A Hanyou in Tokyo
by socchan
Summary: Discontinued. Watch Kagome devise strategies, cast spells, and incinerate demons (all while trying to catch a glimpse of Inu-Yasha shritless ). It's Inu-Yasha remade--without time travel! InuKag, AU
1. Inu Yasha

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

One: Inu-Yasha

One of the first things Kagome had noticed about the forest was that it was dark. It wasn't the physical dark of 'a dark and stormy night', as sunlight filtered in through gaps in the trees, illuminating the close passages of the forest's maze while still not quite lighting anything up; neither was it the quiet, peaceful dark one would normally find in forests. It was the kind of dark that one would expect in a place that was permanently twilight, or caught somewhere between two distinct warring powers, not neutral, but not quite a part of either side. Almost like something fighting for survival. It was a strange feeling, but somehow, not one Kagome disliked. She almost felt herself reaching out to it, despite the fact that it was only a forest and a feeling in the atmosphere.

"Not like I'm even supposed to be here…" Kagome muttered. Her grandfather had expressly forbidden her from ever entering the forest surrounding the shrine, dubbed who knows how many years ago 'Inu-Yasha's Forest'. She wasn't entirely sure why she wasn't allowed in, only that her grandfather thought it was dangerous. Kagome glanced around her and snorted. "Of all the stupid things to say about this place. Dangerous. Ha!" She half-smirked as she watched a chipmunk scurry over a tree root.

Still, Kagome wasn't entirely certain why she _was_ there. It was just as if something had… compelled her to come. Something that had long ago been swallowed up by the forest, becoming almost as much a part of it as the trees, defining its character…

Kagome shook her head to clear it of such thoughts. That was something her grandpa would say, not her! She knew with a confusing clarity that there was more to life than most people saw, but not the same way her grandpa seemed to think there was. But maybe, she thought, looking around her, maybe this time she'd found something…

Kagome shivered as she felt suspiciously as if someone was watching her. She glanced briefly over her shoulder, then continued to follow the direction the weird feeling was leading her. A pair of red eyes flashed briefly in the darkness behind her.

Kagome stepped into a clearing, and blinked a few times, adjusting to the change in light. That twilight feeling didn't leave in the sun; it seemed only to get stronger. Kagome was sure of it.  She bit back a gasp as her vision cleared at last.

A magnificent old tree sprawled in the center of the clearing, its branches reaching towards heaven like slaves reaching towards freedom. Leafless vines and branches grew up its trunk, securing there a white haired figure dressed in red. Kagome subconsciously stepped forward to bet a better look at the boy. She frowned; he was pinned to the tree with an arrow, but he seemed only to be sleeping, not dead. Her frown deepened when she noticed the two white furry triangles sprouting from his head. "What the…" she murmured under her breath, stepping closer still to the unresponsive boy.

Without realizing it, Kagome had climbed up the roots until she was nearly face-to-face with him. Sunlight streamed down onto him, illuminating his thick hair and accenting his perfect lips. Kagome's cheeks singed red at this thought, and she turned her attention to the reason she was this close in the first place: his ears. She couldn't quite see them, so she climbed a bit higher until she was at eye level with the boy. Cautiously, Kagome reached forward to feel his ears. Her eyebrows shot up in shock; not only were they very soft, but they felt unmistakably real. As she ran her thumb along the soft fur of his left ear, it twitched in her grasp. She gasped, and lost her footing, catching herself by letting go of his ears to grab onto his shoulders. Sighing in relief, she turned her head to stare into a pair of luminous autumn gold eyes. They sparked in annoyance.

"Y'know…" the no-longer-sleeping boy said, "I don't particularly like being awakened by my would-be killer." His tone suggested he liked it a good deal less than this, which is to say, not at all, and the only reason he was tolerating her presence at all was because he was stuck to a tree.

Kagome shrieked and lost what precious little balance she had gotten, tumbling back to fall unceremoniously on her butt. Organizing her jumbled thoughts, Kagome glared up at the source of her embarrassment. "_You're_ one to talk!" she snapped, despite the urgent warnings her brain was giving her mouth to shut the hell up before she got them both killed. "I don't even _know_ you! I've never seen you before in my life. I've never even been _in_ this forest before today. How could I have tried to kill you?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "You're not fooling anyone with that 'little-miss-innocent' act, Kikyo. And what's with those weird clothes?"

Kagome blinked, startled, then turned her glare back full blast. "I'm _not_ Kikyo, and this _happens_ to be my school uniform! And while it's certainly not the most stylish thing in the world, it's better than going around in what _you're_ wearing." Secretly, Kagome was appalled at the venom she used with a perfect stranger, but it was too late to change it now.

The boy's eyes, if anything, only showed more annoyance, matching the scowl on his face. "What are you talking about? Of _course_ you're Kikyo, you have to be."

Kagome growled, and, throwing caution to the wind, rose to her feet. She marched over to the tree, got a firm footing, and looked him straight in the eye. "Now look here, you. I don't know who you are or why you're stuck to this stupid tree, but I'm not Kikyo, I'm Kagome. Ka-go-me! And I _certainly_ don't have to be this Kikyo person—in fact, the only person _I_ have to be is _myself_!"

The boy glared at her. "What is with you lately, huh? First, you try to kill me, and now—" the boy stopped mid-sentence, and peered at Kagome. He sniffed at her. Kagome looked offended. "Huh. What do you know. You really _aren't_ her." He leaned back against the tree, sporting a rather smug smirk. "Yup, Kikyo smelled nicer. She was prettier, too, for all you look alike." Kagome stared at the boy, dumbfounded. "Now get me down from here, wench. I don't expect _you'd_ like being stuck to a tree very much." Kagome's glare turned icy, and white-hot rage streamed through her veins. Gathering all the strength she could muster, Kagome smacked the boy across the face, then turned around and jumped off the tree, stalking off the way she had come. "Oi! You! I thought I told you to get me down from here!" the boy called after her.

Kagome stopped in her tracks, and spun around. "Shove it, you. After the way you treated me, I wouldn't lift a finger to save your life." Glaring darkly, Kagome spun on her heel, and continued walking into the forest.

The boy watched her go, disinterest painted on his face. "Well, it's not like I have anywhere to go…" he muttered. "And so what if she looks like Kikyo? What's that got to do with anything?" He glanced after the girl, and sighed. "Damn. She's going to get into trouble in there."

Kagome stormed out through the forest, oblivious to both the boy's comments and to the pair of eyes watching her as she ranted angrily to herself. "So what if I'm not that Kikyo person?" Kagome muttered, darkly. "What right does that give him to order me around? And what should he care if I'm Kikyo or not? I thought she tried to kill him!" She snorted. "Fat lot of good _that_ did. He's still alive, and now he's bugging _me_! I have half a mind to go back there and finish what she started…." Something rustled in the bushes to her left. "Still…" Kagome said, wistfully, "He _was_ kinda cute…" Shocked at the turn her thoughts were taking, Kagome stopped dead in her tracks, and shook her head vigorously. "No! I am _not_ attracted to that jerk. I couldn't care less if I never saw him again!" With a nod of affirmation to these 'more correct' thoughts, Kagome continued on her way, still muttering dark things about the rude boy. The thing in the bushes watched her a minute more, then followed.

Continuing her tirade, Kagome rounded a bend in the near-invisible trail, and screeched. A giant centipede with a three-armed woman's torso blocked her path. There were stumps where three of her arms had been burned off. The centipede woman's eyes glowed red as it stared down at the frightened girl. "Where is it?" she demanded, her voice clicking and hissing. Long fangs dripped something akin to poison were revealed as she spoke.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Kagome stuttered, trying to keep her balance.

"The Shikon no Tama!" the centipede woman insisted. "I can sense it on you, girl. I know you have it…"

Kagome frowned as something sparked in her memory. "Ah!" she cried, reaching into her bag to pull out a keychain. "You mean this?" An iridescent glass ball dangled from a chain on the ring. The centipede woman hissed in acknowledgement, and nodded, her glowing eyes never leaving the glass bauble. Kagome smirked, and gripped it in her fist. "Then go and get it!" With all the strength she had, Kagome pitched the thing off into the forest, the centipede monster following it. Kagome wasted no time in turning a full one-eighty, and running for dear life. That trick wouldn't work for long. She smirked a bit at finally having found a good use for one of her grandfather's birthday gifts.

Kagome heard a roar behind her as the centipede woman discovered the false jewel. Swallowing hard, Kagome sped up, trying to outrun the monster behind her. The nearing sounds of crashing trees told her she was having little success.

Kagome stopped with a gasp as she found herself once again in the clearing with the odd boy. He smirked at her, an arrogant glint in his golden eyes. "Well, well. Regretting your actions already."

Kagome glared at him. "Hardly. I'm only running for my life."

As if to prove her point, the centipede woman chose that moment to burst free from the trees. The dog-eared boy blinked in surprise. "What's Mistress Centipede want with _you_?"

"The hell if I know!" Kagome shot back, eyes darting back and forth, searching for cover. She found none, and had to dive out of the way when Mistress Centipede saw her and attacked.

"Hey." Kagome dodged another of Mistress Centipede's attacks. "I said, hey!" She tucked and rolled to avoid the crashing legs. "Hell-oooo, human, I'm talking to you! Answer me back already! I _know_ you can hear."

"I'm kinda busy here!" Kagome shouted to the dog-eared boy.

"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to talk about." The boy's voice had more than a hint of sarcasm. "Get me down from here, and I'll help you out."

Kagome stared for a minute, almost costing her a limb. "You'll _what_?!"

The boy scowled at rolled his eyes. "I'll take care of that demon you ticked off, what else?"

Kagome glanced between him and Mistress Centipede; he seemed not only serious, but the lesser of two evils. "How do I get you down?"

The boy grinned in triumph; he knew he'd won. "Just take the arrow out."

Kagome glanced at the boy one more time before dashing to the tree he was secured to. "This had better work." She gritted out, climbing up and clutching the arrow in both hands. The clenched her fists and pulled, and to her utter shock, the arrow vanished from her grip. With a feral grin, the boy tore free from his bonds, causing Kagome to loose her balance once again. Before she could blink, he had an arm around her waist, and was depositing her back on the ground. He made sure she had her balance, then flashed a cocky grin, and attacked Mistress Centipede head-on. Brandishing his claws, the dog-boy jumped to an alarming height, then tore them through Mistress Centipede's body, dividing it neatly in half. The body hit the ground first, its guts exploding outwards, the boy landing lightly on his feet soon after. Kagome swore under her breath as she dodged the flying demon bits.

"Hey," Kagome turned to look at the boy, who was smirking at her. "Thanks for getting me out of there. I haven't had a good fight in ages." Kagome smiled, and was about to reply when he continued. "Because you freed me, and I'm in such a good mood right now, I think I'll let you live a while longer."

Kagome's eyes narrowed; so much for him being the lesser of two evils. "Why did you just save me if you're planning to kill me later?!" she growled.

The boy blinked in surprise a moment, then grinned. "Hey, not half bad for a human. I didn't know your kind could growl."

Kagome glared more fiercely at him. "Just answer the damn question." She gritted out.

The boy shrugged. "I _did_ say I'd take care of Mistress Centipede, didn't I?  So I fulfilled my obligation to you for freeing me, and now I'm pretty much free to do as I please." He grinned at her expression of shocked fury. "Well, as much fun as this has been, I've gotta run. Don't forget, though, the next time we run into each other will be the last time you do anything." With that, he leapt off through the forest, laughing.

Outraged, Kagome stared at the boy's retreating figure. He was, somehow, the most amazingly infuriating person she had ever met. With an angry grumble, Kagome shook her head, and started the long walk back.

"I'm home!" Kagome's call rang out through the house.

"Welcome back!" Kagome's mother said, leaning out through the kitchen doorway and smiling warmly.

"You're later than usual." Kagome's little brother, Souta, stated from where he sat on the couch, watching television.

"Yes, where were you?" her grandfather asked. He was sitting next to Souta.

Kagome shrugged. "I was out with some friends." She didn't need to tell them that one of her 'friends' was a now dead centipede woman, and the other was a dog-boy who planned to kill her. Her grandfather nodded, and turned back to the screen. Kagome was struck by an idea. "Grandpa, what's 'Inu-Yasha Forest' named after?"

The old Shinto priest blinked and turned his head from the television. "Why do you want to know?" His eyes glittered with happy tears. "Have you finally developed an interest in the supernatural?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "No, Grandpa, I was just walking by the forest, and I got curious." That wasn't _completely_ a lie.

The lights went out, and a dim swinging lantern hung above her grandfather's head. "Then listen well, child. Long ago, in the Warring States era, there was a half-demon named Inu-Yasha, a priestess named Kikyo, and a sacred jewel named the Shikon no Tama." Kagome blinked; already things were starting to sound familiar. "The priestess Kikyo had great power, and was charged with the enormous task of guarding the jewel from demonic forces that would use it to increase their own power. One such force was Inu-Yasha, who wanted to use the jewel to become a full youkai. He deceived his way into Kikyo's heart, claiming he would use the jewel to become human, earning her trust. Then, one day, he went on a rampage, destroying the village where the miko lived, and mortally wounding her in the process. Using the last of her strength, the young priestess shot an arrow into the hanyou's heart, pinning him to a tree in the middle of the forest." Kagome bit back a gasp, recognizing him as the boy she had freed, but her grandfather continued on. "Kikyo knew she would not live much longer, so with her last breath, she asked to have the Shikon no Tama burned with her, so its power would leave this world forever. In time, the forest took on the hanyou's aura, and the villagers named it Inu-Yasha's Forest." Kagome's grandfather flicked the lights back on. "That answer your question, girl?"

Kagome nodded, dazed. "Yes… Thank you, Grandpa." Lost in thought, Kagome wandered up the stairs to her room. Dropping her bag on the floor, Kagome flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "That boy…" Kagome murmured, "He was Inu-Yasha…? But why did he think I was Kikyo? She's dead… and why did Mistress Centipede think _I_ had the Shikon no Tama? It's not even in this world any more!" Kagome sighed, and draped an arm over her eyes. "I guess I'll never know… He plans to kill me the next time he sees me, after all…"

"Hey. You." Kagome was startled out of her musings by a vaguely familiar voice. She lifted her arm to come face-to-face with a pair of luminous golden eyes for the second time that day. Inu-Yasha was crouched over her on her bed, scowling. Kagome 'eep'ed, and tried to scoot back, only to have Inu-Yasha snatch the front of her uniform and drag her closer. "Where the hell are you hiding the Shikon no Tama, bitch?"

=^-,-^= End Chapter One =^-,-^=

*grins * You hate me now, admit it. I know you do. Don't try to hide it; it won't work. Anyway, back to business. I got this idea a while ago when I was wondering what would happen if Kagome didn't travel back in time to wake Inu-Yasha up, and go on that whole shard quest, and this is what came out of it. In reality, there are two things that made me really want to write this story, neither one of which are featured in this chapter. Or the next, for that matter. Still, you'll see them eventually, and when you do, I'll point them out. While this is probably not my best work, I must admit, I've come up with some pretty ingenious plot devices for it, which I plan to work in relatively soon. I'll try and update bi-monthly, but don't get your hopes up, because it's not finished yet; I might get writers' block or something, and have to postpone (knock on wood).

Anyhow, this is my first Inu-Yasha fic, and as is my tradition, I would like to invite all reviewers to do their worst. Go ahead; my treat. I probably frustrated more than a few of you with where I ended this chapter, so don't be afraid to yell at me for that or anything else. My grammar isn't the greatest in this fic, either, but maybe I'll go back and re-work it someday. Maybe. We'll see.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-Yasha, I would probably have done a much worse job with him and the rest of the crew than Takahashi-san has done. For this, I thank her. But I don't own it, and that means that it is the wonderful story we all (supposedly) know and love. Thanks for listening!

Edit (12-24-03): Boy, was I cocky then.  I still am, a little.  Anyway, went through, and tried to make the chapter run smoother in a couple of places.  Hope it worked.

-socchan


	2. The Shikon no Tama

Due to the evilness of leaving you at a very nasty cliffhanger last time, and a four-day weekend, I've decided to take pity on you and post early. Just don't expect this to happen again any time soon, unless I get about ten chapters ahead of schedule or something equally unlikely. In the mean time, I'm going to shut up so you can read.

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Two: The Shikon no Tama

"Where the hell are you hiding the Shikon no Tama, bitch?"

Kagome glared at the hanyou looming menacingly over her as the shock of his sudden appearance wore off. "I don't know _what_ you're talking about."

"Stop lying, bitch!" Inu-Yasha snarled.

Kagome's lips pressed into a thin line. "Okay, you caught me. I _do_ know what the Shikon no Tama is, but I don't have it, so you can just go straight back to your forest, Inu-Yasha!"

Inu-Yasha started a bit at this, then went straight back to glaring at her. "I _know_ you have the jewel; I can sense it. Now where the hell is it, and how the fuck do you know my name?"

Kagome glared just as fiercely. "My Grandpa told me your stupid legend; about how you wanted to become a full youkai, so you tried to trick that Kikyo person you thought I was into giving the jewel to you. You destroyed her village, so she shot an arrow into you and pinned you to that tree! And I don't care if you think you _can_ sense the jewel with me, I'm telling you, I _don't_ have it!"

Inu-Yasha slammed her up against the wall, claws around her neck. "You fucking liar! I _never_ destroyed Kikyo's village, and I _know_ you have the jewel, so don't bother trying to hide it from me!"

"If you didn't destroy Kikyo's village, how come she shot you?!" Kagome choked out.

Inu-Yasha's eyes flashed as Kagome struck a sore spot. "I don't know! She just did!"

"Wrongo, buster!" Kagome shouted at him, "Kikyo shot you because you went on some mad demonic rampage and mortally wounded her! And I _can't_ have the Shikon no Tama, because they _burned_ it with her _body_!"

Inu-Yasha's eyes went wide, and his grip slackened at this statement. Kagome used the opportunity to wrench his hands from her neck. "She's… what?" Inu-Yasha whispered.

"She's _dead_, you moron! _You_ killed her. And even if you hadn't, she'd still be dead, because that stupid legend took place hundreds of years ago!"

"How many?" His voice was barely audible.

"What?" Kagome asked, startled.

"How many years has it been since… since she was killed?"

At once Kagome felt an odd sort of sympathy for the hanyou in front of her. Though her mind screamed it was a trick, merely more deception from the deceitful half-demon that wanted her dead, something inside her overpowered it. Perhaps it was the same thing that had drawn her to his forest in the first place. The thought that she was suicidal crossed her mind, but she brushed it away as she reached forward and put a tentative hand on his shoulder. He started, but didn't snap it off and shove it down her throat, so she took it as a good sign and left it there. "At least four hundred…" she told him, softly. "Humans don't live nearly that long, especially back then, when it was a fight even to survive."

"So I've been dead… asleep… whatever, for four hundred years." His voice seemed almost to betray his age. Kagome nodded silently. The hanyou clenched his fists so tight that his claws punctured his own skin. He relaxed them, and held them up to his face, watching as the wounds healed. Kagome watched, fascinated; she had never seen anything quite like it. At last, he let his hands drop, sighing. He looked at Kagome, something bordering incredulity on his face. _Normally I would have ripped someone in two for telling me that, but I just can't seem to get the strength, or the anger, to do it. Who is this that she could calm me so much…?_ He wondered, gazing at her, trying to find the answer to his question in the contours of her face. "Why did you do that?" he asked, softly, amber eyes boring into her.

Kagome knew she never should have caught his gaze. Now, she found she couldn't look away, and words spilled from her, unbidden. "I don't really know…" she answered, voice just as soft. "It's just… you were in pain, and I had to do _something_…" Her eyes bared as much of her soul as his did, and for a split second as their gazes locked, a connection was formed between them. Then, Inu-Yasha broke the connection, turning away and massaging his temples with his eyes closed.

"Right…" He murmured. He turned a warning glare on her from the corner of his eyes. "This doesn't mean anything. It especially doesn't mean I like you. It just means that I'm not planning to kill you just now."

Kagome smiled, softly, glad in spite of herself that he was feeling better. "I know." She told him. "I didn't really expect anything else." She grinned, teasingly. "So I won't be surprised when you sneak into my room one night and tear everything apart looking for the Shikon no Tama." Kagome turned, and snatched Inu-Yasha's arm, dragging him with her. "C'mon, I want you to meet my family."

Inu-Yasha stumbled behind her. "You what?!"

"_I_ want _you_ to meet _my_ family." Kagome repeated. "I know the language must have changed between your time and this one, but it can't be _that_ different."

"I just tried to fucking kill you! How can you be so damn cheerful?" Inu-Yasha hissed at her.

Kagome stopped in front of the stairs and turned to face him. "You aren't going to kill me _now_, right?" she pressed.

Inu-Yasha leaned back, flustered. "Well, not at this exact moment…"

"Well, I'm not about to waste what's left of my life worrying about when you _are_ going to kill me." Kagome turned and stared walking down the stairs. "I'm sorry if that's a problem for you, but it's just not who I am." She stopped near the foyer, standing at attention, and addressed her family. "Mom, Grandpa, Souta, this is Inu-Yasha. I accidentally woke him up, so he's going to be staying with us for a while. Is that okay?"

"Sure, honey." Her mother's voice came from the kitchen. "I'll set an extra place for dinner."

"Nice to meet part of the local history." Kagome's Grandfather said, shaking Inu-Yasha's clawed hand. "It's a good thing the Shikon no Tama isn't in this field, or I'd be _really_ worried!"

Souta was right next to Inu-Yasha, looking him up and down with an excited expression on his face. "Wow, cool!" he said, "A real demon!"

"Half-demon." Kagome corrected.

"Yeah, whatever. Say, Mister Inu-Yasha, can you do any neat tricks?"

Inu-Yasha blinked. "Kagome, you have, without question, the strangest family I have ever met." Souta grinned. Suddenly, something clicked in Inu-Yasha's mind, and he whirled on Kagome. "Hey, what the hell did you mean, I'm going to be staying a while?!"

"Oh, that." Kagome shrugged. "Do you have anywhere else to go?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Look." Kagome was starting to get impatient. "You said you sensed the Shikon no Tama with me, right?"

"Well, yeah…"

"And I don't have it, but Mistress Centipede thought I did, too. So don't you think that _other_ demons are going to want it, too?"

Inu-Yasha frowned. "I don't see what this has to do with where I'm staying…"

Kagome's mind was working fast. "Well, since I don't think I have it, but both you and Mistress Centipede thought I did, it might be somewhere _in_ me. And if you try to get it out of me without the right methods, something bad might happen to it. And if you don't want the jewel damaged, and you _also _don't want other demons to get it, then that means that you're going to have to protect it. And until we find a way to determine where it is and how to get it out, that means you're going to have to protect _me_, too. And since you're going to have to protect _me_, that means you're going to need to stay close. And since I'll throw a fit and risk damaging the Shikon no Tama if you try to drag me away from _my_ home, _my_ life, _my_ friends, and _my family_, that means you're going to have to stay _right. Here. With. Us._" Kagome's mouth set stubbornly, but she smiled inside at the flawless logic she had produced. She held back a snicker of delight as she watched Inu-Yasha open his mouth to protest, then process the information, and shut it again, glaring at her.

"Alright, fine, you goddamned bitch." He growled. "But don't expect me to be nice to you."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "If I didn't expect it before, why should I expect it now? Hey, Mom?" she called, turning her head to the kitchen. "Where do we keep Grandpa's old clothes?"

"In the back closet, sweetie!" her mother called back.

"Thanks, Mom. C'mon, Inu-Yasha." Kagome once again snatched Inu-Yasha's arm and proceeded to drag him along.

"What gives?!" Inu-Yasha protested.

"You're going to protect me, right?"

"The jewel." Inu-Yasha corrected.

Kagome shot him an exasperated look, and he shut up. "Well, if you're going to do that, you're going to have to _look_ like you fit in. And to do _that_, you're going to need modern clothes." She frowned a bit. "I'm not sure what we're going to do about those ears, though…"

Inu-Yasha stared in awe at the force of nature leading him through the hallways, and gripped his ear subconsciously with his free hand. They stopped in front of a door in the wall, which Kagome opened and took a box from. Choking a bit on the dust, she opened it up and sorted through the items inside, selecting a few and draping them over her arm. When she seemed to be satisfied, Kagome shut the box and shoved it in the closet, closing the door and once again snatching Inu-Yasha's arm to drag him somewhere. She stopped in front of another door and handed him her armload of cloth. "Here," Kagome said. "This is the guest room. You're going to stay there. It's right below my room, so you should be able to sense anything that's coming. Now try these on to see if they fit." With that, Kagome shoved him, clothing and all, into the room and shut the door.

Inu-Yasha twitched slightly, feeling the beginnings of panic catch at his mind with icy claws. "How do I put these on?" he demanded, hoarsely, some of the panic reaching his voice.

"Oh, I forgot about that." Kagome's voice reached his sensitive ears through the door. "You wouldn't know, what with being from the past and all. Okay, first you have to take off your old clothes."

"I guessed that, thanks." Inu-Yasha growled, already undoing the ties that bound the fire-rat cloth together. That wench was doing nothing to spare his pride. A thought occurred to him. "How do you know I won't just sneak out the window and come to kill you when I find a way to get the Shikon no Tama safely?"

He heard Kagome snort. "I have the jewel; you don't. You won't risk leaving just for some other youkai to sneak in behind your back and take it." Inu-Yasha cursed mentally. "You ready for instructions in there?" her voice called.

"Yes," he answered, a blush tinting his cheeks in shame of his helplessness. If he was back in his own time, he would have _no_ trouble at all*…

"Okay," Kagome's voice snapped him back to reality. "Do you have any underwear?"

"Any what?"

"I didn't think so. Good thing I remembered to throw that pair of boxers in the pile…" Kagome trailed off. "Anyway! Find the shortest pair of pants with the crossing stripes on them, and put those on first."

Inu-Yasha dug through the stack of clothes until he found the item Kagome had been describing, and put them on. They felt a bit… confining, but he supposed he would get used to it. "Next?"

"Next, find the gray short-sleeved shirt and put that on."

It didn't take as long to find the shirt as it had to find the boxers, and he held it up in confusion a minute, turning it over and over a few times. "Hey," he said at last, "It doesn't open up." His ears twitched as Kagome struck her forehead.

"Duh!" she hissed, probably thinking it was too quiet for him to hear. He smirked a bit at that thought. "Okay, find the small hole at the top near the sleeves. There should be a little bit of cloth sticking out on the inside; that's the tag; it goes in the back. Reach through the large hole in the bottom, and pull the middle-sized one down over your head.  Push your arms through the smallest holes."

Fumbling a bit, Inu-Yasha pulled the shirt on. "Alright."

"Now take the pair of long blue pants, and put those on, with the big pockets in back and the metal thing in front. When you have them all the way up, pull up the little metal tab that's sticking out. The two metal strips should come together. Be very careful not to get anything caught in it. The metal thing is called a 'zipper', by the way. Tuck the shirt into the pants, but not the boxers. Make sure you do the button at the top of the pants."

"Now what?"

"Now grab the jacket, and come out so I can see you."

Inu-Yasha opened the door and walked out, jacket in hand, a bit self-conscious. He put up a mask of indifference, and tried not to look worried as Kagome circled him, looking him up and down. A thoughtful expression was on her face when she came in front of him again. Then, inspiration struck, and she smacked her fist into her palm. "Socks! I forgot socks. Oh, well, you can go without them for one night. Now…" Kagome reached out and pulled on a sleeve. "T-shirt." She said, before bending down and tugging on his pants where they slacked around his feet. "Jeans." She told him. "Underneath those, you're wearing boxers, a kind of underwear for guys. The other pair of pants I brought are called 'sweat pants', and can be used for exercise, but in this case I want you to use them as pajamas. That means you sleep in them, wearing underwear, but no other every day clothes, aside from maybe a clean T-shirt." Inu-Yasha nodded, absorbing the information. Kagome smiled at him. "This'll do till Mom has a chance to take you shopping. Now put on the jacket, and let's go show everyone."

Glaring dispassionately at Kagome, Inu-Yasha pulled the black windbreaker on, barely noticing the Japanese flag on the left breast. With a scowl, he freed his flowing white hair from the back, and followed the dark haired girl down the hall to dinner.

=^-,-^= End Chapter Two =^-,-^=

*We _all_ know how true _this_ is…

Just a few announcements before you leave. I would like to thank all of my reviewers for taking the time to leave a comment, and I'm sorry I won't be able to reply to all of them. I've decided it would just take up too much space; I'm pushing it as it is. Nevertheless, there were three people I felt I needed to say something to. Pay attention even if you aren't one of them; I might give something away…

Kristen Sharpe: Who said I wouldn't be using 'sit'?

Ame Tenshi: Dun worry, the others will show up. Part of what I'm proud of in this story is how I managed it. Shippo, in fact, makes a brief appearance in the next chapter, and is the second of the two reasons I decided to write this. The number one reason won't appear until the fifth chapter, though, so you're going to have to wait a while ^_~.

Verena: Thanks so much for that well-thought-out review! It really made my day. I promise I'll try and smooth out those rough spots if I ever go back and do a thorough job of revision. Hope to hear from you again ^_^.

Sorry if I got any of your names wrong, and thanks to all of my other reviewers, too. All of you remember, I want to hear what you _really_ think. Personally, I felt that Inu-Yasha was a little too nice in this chapter, but I couldn't think of a way around it. I also had too much fun with the introduction to modern clothing. I still can't stop grinning about it. Also, if you're really persuasive, maybe you can talk me into updating once a week instead of once every two weeks. We'll see what happens.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-Yasha, I would probably have done a much worse job with him and the rest of the crew than Takahashi-san has done. For this, I thank her. But I don't own it, and that means that it is the wonderful story we all (supposedly) know and love. Thanks for listening!

Edit (12-24-03): Changed the beginning so Inu-Yasha remains standing instead of slouching down when he finds out about Kikyo.  I figured that the idiot's way to stubborn to let even news like _that_ affect him to such a degree.  Also corrected a glaring error in the first version in which I forgot to include the sleeves in Kagome's instructions ^^;.  Oops…

-socchan


	3. Social Needs

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Three: Social Needs

Inu-Yasha grunted and opened his eyes a crack to the sunlight streaming in through the window. He glared at the clear glass and rolled over, growling, only to be choked a bit by the necklace he now wore. Kagome's grandfather had dug up the insidious torture device the previous night to hide Inu-Yasha's demonic features, making him look pretty much like he usually did on his 'human' nights. The old man had strung the thing around the hanyou's neck before Inu-Yasha could form a protest. He found it a bit disconcerting to be unable to swivel his ears to the direction a sound was coming from, but was grateful that at least this obscure torture device did not dim his senses. For reasons he couldn't fathom, he was unable to remove the necklace himself. To add insult to injury, any time Kagome said the word 'sit'—accidentally or on purpose, both of which had happened over the course of the evening—gravity increased for him and he came crashing to the ground. Kagome had said she would try not to make him wear it too often, but he agreed to wear it that night to get used to it. Growling further at the indignity of it all, Inu-Yasha pulled the covers over his head in an attempt to snatch the fleeing remains of sleep. He had to admit, these modern beds were comfortable, but it just wasn't the same as sleeping outside.

"Inu-Yasha!" Mrs. Higurashi was knocking at the door. "Time to get up! I'm going shopping, and Kagome wanted me to take you along to buy some new clothes."

Inu-Yasha buried his face in his pillows, letting out a groan and giving up on the idea of more sleep.

Several minutes later, a fully dressed (and decidedly grumpy) Inu-Yasha emerged from his room. Mrs. Higurashi handed him a Styrofoam cup. Inu-Yasha sniffed the semi-clear brown liquid inside, wrinkling his nose at the combined scents of the bitter brew and non-biodegradable material. He raised a skeptical eyebrow at Mrs. Higurashi, but her encouraging smile did nothing to ease his discomfort. Taking a deep breath and clenching his eyes shut, Inu-Yasha raised the cup to his lips, and took a swig. His eyes popped open, and he stared incredulously at the brew in the cup. "What _is_ this stuff?" he asked, eagerly, licking his lips for any residual traces of it.

"Coffee." Mrs. Higurashi told him, a slight smile on her face and eyes twinkling with hidden amusement.

Inu-Yasha lifted the cup again, tilting his head back to drain every last drop of the substance from the container. "This is _good_!" he said, eyebrows raised in appreciation.

"Kagome thought you might like it." Inu-Yasha glanced at the woman beside him. He could easily understand where Kagome got her sense of humor. That pigheaded attitude of hers was a complete mystery at the moment, but that ridiculous smile that made him melt inside every time he saw it definitely had its roots here. It was as if this woman's only purpose in life was to produce a child who would someday outshine her, but, unlike most demons he had known, she had accepted this destiny whole-heartedly, happy that her offspring would be her better.

"Keh." Inu-Yasha stated blandly, trying not to betray his thoughts.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled at this, and Inu-Yasha once again found himself comparing the action to Kagome's. Yes, Kagome's smile definitely was an evolutionary achievement of mankind. "Shall we get going then?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged, apathetically. "You're the human."

Sparing him another smile, Mrs. Higurashi lead the way to the market.

Inu-Yasha stepped out of the store wearing a T-shirt and jeans that fit better, with several bags of new clothes draped about him. He didn't mind carrying them; their weight, which would have been fairly troublesome for a human, was almost nothing to him. He had objected at first to Mrs. Higurashi paying, which she had countered with the infallible sense of logic Kagome seemed to have inherited from her. He blushed slightly in memory. He was their guest, so he didn't need to worry about such things. If he really wanted to pay so badly, he could, but whose money would he be using? Certainly not his own, because he didn't have any. Besides, she had to do _something_ with those alimony payments…

He had closed his mouth at the last one. He was unready to deal with unfamiliar words, and from the sound of it, this one wasn't very pleasant. After that, he just guiltily let Mrs. Higurashi try clothes on him like some oversized doll. Nor could he dissuade her from buying him _new_ clothes—he mustn't look shabby, or it would reflect badly on Kagome's family, and he didn't want that, now did he?

A blush dusted his cheeks when Mrs. Higurashi stepped out after him. He caught her shoulder briefly, and dropped his hand when she turned to look at him. "Uh, thanks. For the clothes and stuff." He said, a bit awkwardly. It had been a very long time since he'd had a mother, and Mrs. Higurashi acted very much like one towards him, despite only having met him the previous night.

She smiled at him in that warm, motherly way he'd gotten used to in the past few hours, and he felt a slight warmth spreading in his chest. "It was nothing, really. And just wait until Kagome sees you in those clothes! She'll be positively stunned!"

Inu-Yasha snorted and turned away, the red on his cheeks noticeably deepening. This woman must like him better than she let on to try to set him up with her daughter so openly. He felt a pang of guilt remembering this woman didn't know he planned to kill Kagome. He sighed, deeply, as he struggled with a brief inner war. He straightened, and the look in his eyes became stronger as he settled on a decision. He turned back to Mrs. Higurashi, and smiled, gently. "Where to next?" he asked, the words more genuine this time.

Mrs. Higurashi's smile deepened at this, as if she could sense the source of his newfound conviction. (And who knows, maybe she could? She was, after all, a Mother, and Mothers are very special creatures with a power all their own.) "We're going to Kagome's school, to see if we can get you registered." She told him. He blinked at her, startled. "Well, I know you're from the past, so I thought you might like to learn about modern life."

He looked at Mrs. Higurashi, awestruck. How did she know? He smiled, touched in spite of himself. "Thanks…"

Mrs. Higurashi waved it off. "You're still a boy, and boys need to learn." Inu-Yasha didn't point out that, technically, he was over four hundred years old, not wanting to spoil it for her. Still smiling a bit, he followed her to the place Kagome called 'school'.

Inu-Yasha was locked in a room, taking what Kagome's mother had called 'entrance exams'. Only the fact that he knew it would get him nowhere kept him from bolting as he filled out question after question on the sheet of paper. As a very small child, his father had valued education, and made sure he had the finest teachers available, human or youkai. As a result, most of the questions he had little trouble with, but the ones that had to deal with more recent history gave him more than he felt was his share of problems (More recent referring to anything that happened while he took his four-hundred-some-year nap). Finally, he let out a sigh of relief, and set down the cramping torture device humans had named 'pencil'. He was finally finished. He stood and stretched as the leader of the school (called a 'principal', though where humans came up with such a ridiculous, degrading name was beyond him) entered and looked over his answers. The man's eyebrows went up. "Well, mister…" he paused to look at the name. "Inu-Yasha, I don't know your test results just yet, but I can tell you already that your chances are good."

Inu-Yasha nodded, trying to keep his inward surprise, then arrogance, suppressed. "Thank you, sir."

The man rested a hand on his shoulder, and Inu-Yasha had to bite down on the urge to get defensive of his touch. "I think you'll do just fine here, Inu-Yasha. I can see already the makings of an excellent scholar in you." He clapped Inu-Yasha's shoulder a few times, then released it. Inu-Yasha fought the growl working its way up his throat at the invasion of his personal space. "You can pick up your test results shortly after three. They should be ready by then." He walked out the door to where Mrs. Higurashi was waiting after having filled out his application, and Inu-Yasha followed. Mrs. Higurashi smiled at him, and he smiled in return, with a nod of affirmation that he was okay.

The two walked back to Inu-Yasha's new home together, filling the silence with polite small talk. "A little after three," he told her when she asked when he could see the results.

"Oh, good. I didn't know you would be able to get them so soon. You remember how to get there, right?" Inu-Yasha nodded. "Kagome gets out of school about then; you can go home with her."

Mrs. Higurashi chattered on, but Inu-Yasha didn't pay attention. His mind, instead, was focused on a dark haired girl who had brought him from a centuries-long sleep.

At three o'clock, Inu-Yasha could be found making his way to Kagome's school over the rooftops. The beads around his neck may have been able to conceal his demonic appearance, but they could do nothing about his abilities. He let out a joyful breath at his freedom as he ran above the world most mortals were forced to live in. His long mane of black hair flowed behind him as he gently landed on roof after roof, being careful not to damage anything or make any noise that would alert the occupants that there was anything larger than a squirrel on their roof. After the events of the previous day, a run on the rooftops felt quite liberating.

A bit too soon, he landed in a tree in back of Kagome's school to continue on his way without attracting too much more attention. He let out a regretful sigh, and trudged towards the front of the building.

As he neared the entrance, his ears pricked at the sound of a familiar voice. He looked up, a bit startled, to see Kagome in a group of four humans, three female and one male, and a male youkai. Inu-Yasha frowned at the presumptuous male who dared get so close to Kagome—probably sensing the jewel. For some reason, a feeling of resentment to the human male arose as well. He ignored it in favor of the one that made more sense, and growled softly, threateningly, deep in his throat. The male youkai picked it up, and glanced at Inu-Yasha out of the corner of his eye; he smiled all but invisibly, but said nothing.

Suddenly, Kagome felt his eyes on her and turned her gaze to him. He automatically dropped his defensive posture for one of comfortable arrogance. "Inu-Yasha?" she asked, pausing in her conversation.

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What is it?"

Kagome looked flustered. "What are you doing here?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "Your mom helped me register this afternoon, and I came to pick up my test results." He said, off-handedly.

The youkai followed this exchange, glancing back and fourth between human and hanyou. He had to hide a grin behind his hand, but nothing could disguise the amusement in his eyes.

Kagome sent an apologetic look to her friends. "Sorry, guys, I guess I gotta stay a while longer."

"You go on ahead, Kagome." The youkai said, obviously fighting to keep from laughing. Her human friends voiced their own agreements, some of the girls whispering things it was difficult to pick up at his range, but judging by the way Kagome's face turned red, it was something that would interest him.

"Okay," Kagome said, a bit reluctantly. "I'll see you later guys!" She waved, and walked over to where Inu-Yasha stood.

"Who was that?" Inu-Yasha asked absently, watching the group walk off for a bit.

"Who?" Kagome asked, snapping to attention at his voice.

Inu-Yasha bit his lip; he was unsure whether or not Kagome knew her friend was a youkai, so he settled on a more harmless approach. "The red-haired kid." He said, vaguely.

Kagome visibly relaxed. "Oh, that's just Shippo. We've been friends for a couple of years now."

Inu-Yasha watched them vanish around the corner; so she _didn't_ know her friend was a demon. That made things a bit more complicated. "Huh…" he said, distractedly. "Okay, then. Let's go get my test scores so we can go."

Kagome lead Inu-Yasha through the school to what she called the 'principal's office'. There, a woman sitting at a desk dug out some papers with neat writing and numbers on them. She flashed Inu-Yasha a smile. "Congratulations." She said.

"Uh, thanks." Inu-Yasha replied, taking the papers. He glanced over them, and swallowed, hard. He couldn't make any sense of them! "Ah, Kagome?" he said, nervously. "Can we get going?"

"Oh! Sure!" Kagome said, starting. She smiled at the woman behind the desk. "Thanks for your help!" With a wave, she herded Inu-Yasha out the door.

"What the hell do these numbers mean?" Inu-Yasha asked once they were in the hall.

Kagome glanced at the papers over his shoulder. "Oh, that's just how high you scored on various tests. Here, let me take a look." She snatched the papers from Inu-Yasha's hands before he could protest. "Good reading, okay science, your history is pretty much shot, but your math scores are through the roof!" She stared at him, incredulously. "How did you score so high in math?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged, frowning. "I don't know. Numbers just always made sense to me. Is that a good thing?"

"Of course it's a good thing! There's hardly a job out there where you don't need to know math!" She snorted. "I wish numbers made sense to _me_. Huh… looks like we're in the same class. That's good. Now I don't have to worry about what you're doing to terrorize other people without me around to keep you in line."

Inu-Yasha scowled. "I can take care of myself."

"Sit!"

The floor came crashing up to meet him. "Ow! That hurt, bitch!"

Kagome glared at him. "It was supposed to! Things have changed a _lot_ since you were last awake, and you aren't used to a lot of it. If we're in the same class, I can make sure you don't misinterpret anything."

Inu-Yasha growled, and fought his way to his feet. "Soon as I get the Shikon no Tama…" he vowed, glaring, as gravity returned to its normal level.

"Save it." Kagome shot over her shoulder. "I've heard it all before, and I'm late enough already, thanks to you."

Inu-Yasha sighed, and followed her through the hallway. He stopped and crouched once they were outside. Kagome turned once she noticed he was no longer following her.

"Inu-Yasha?" she questioned, her eyebrows raised.

"Climb on." He replied, not looking at her.

She frowned. "What for?"

He glanced over his shoulder. "You said you were late, didn't you?"

"Yes…" Kagome said, hesitantly.

"Well, even carrying extra weight I can move a lot faster than you. So get on, and I'll have you home in a couple minutes." Reluctantly, Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck, and her legs around his abdomen. He could feel her face heat up as he clutched her thighs just above the knee. He glanced over his shoulder. "You don't want to fall, do you?"

"N-no…" Kagome said, face red as a tomato.

He smirked. "Good. Now hold on." His muscles coiled and released as he took to the sky. Kagome squeaked, and gripped him tighter; his smirk grew wider. He landed softly on a roof, then bounded to the next one, enjoying how Kagome buried her face in his hair. "I'm going to speed up, alright?" he called over his shoulder.

Kagome gulped, nervously. She pressed her body closer to his, afraid of falling. "A-alright!" she called back. She clenched her eyes shut and leaned into him as the hanyou gained speed.

Inu-Yasha was so wrapped up in the sensations he was getting from running with Kagome, he hardly noticed how frightened she was. He glanced back at her when he felt her fingers dig into the flesh in his shoulders, and the pungent scent of fear met his sensitive nose. "Damn…" he muttered. "Have to make her relax." An idea crossed his mind, and the arrogant smirk returned full force. _Hang on, Kagome._

Inu-Yasha landed lightly in front of the Higurashi shrine. He loosened his grip on Kagome, and waited for her to do the same. "Kagome," he said, over his shoulder, "We're here."

Kagome blinked her eyes open, and took in her surroundings. "Oh," she said, slightly dazed. "So we are." Kagome quickly regained her senses, realized the position she was in, and scrambled off Inu-Yasha's back. Inu-Yasha suppressed a chuckle, and Kagome had the decency to blush. "Uh, thanks."

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "Whatever. Could you get this necklace off me now? It's really starting to get on my nerves."

"Oh! Right." Blushing, Kagome unclasped the beads, and stuffed them in her bag. Inu-Yasha let out a sigh as his features returned to normal. Kagome watched, fascinated, as his ears elongated, came to a point, then crawled up the sides of his head.

Inu-Yasha noticed her staring, and turned to face her. "Yes?"

Kagome turned dark red. "Nothing!"

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "Humans." He muttered, and started walking up the steps. Kagome growled, and stomped after him.

That night, when Kagome was about to put on her pajamas, she was interrupted by a light tapping on her window. Looking up, she saw Inu-Yasha there, scowling lightly. She squeaked. Inu-Yasha's scowl deepened, and he rapped again, harder this time. Kagome hurried over to the window, and opened it. "Yes?" she asked, a bit snappish.

Inu-Yasha's expression faltered a moment, as if he was nervous, then went back. "Climb on," he told her, "There's something I want to show you."

Frowning, Kagome did as she was told, biting back a gasp when he took off. She clenched her eyes shut, and clutched at the cloth of his red T-shirt. She thought she heard him try to reassure her, but the wind whipping past her ears distorted it. The up-and-down journey continued, seeming to get higher, but Kagome couldn't be sure. She buried her face in his shoulder, searching for some form of comfort, and ignoring his thick white hair as it whipped back at her. Suddenly, they stopped moving, but it was still windy. "You can open your eyes now, Kagome." Inu-Yasha said softly in her ear.

Cautiously, Kagome followed his instructions to find his face mere inches from hers, wearing an expression she couldn't read. Silently, he released his grip on her thighs, and she let go of his shoulders reluctantly, letting her feet touch the ground at last. Frowning slightly, Kagome searched his eyes, for what, she couldn't tell. She saw only reassurance, so she went to stand next to him. She looked away, not finding any of the answers she sought, and her breath caught in her throat.

The city of Tokyo lay spread out at her feet, each building lit from within and glowing like a jewel. Scattered drops of mercury glittered in the black liquid silk sky, the nearly full orb of the moon smiling down on them, watching over the world protectively. Cars moved busily down below, but Kagome ignored them, their flashing lights only a minor distraction. The sight of the city laid out before her like an ancient jewelry collection distracted her from everything else, even the height. For once, she wasn't afraid to fall.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Inu-Yasha commented beside her. "I noticed it last night, when I was trying to find you, but I didn't stop to admire the view."

Kagome nodded. "This is what you wanted to show me?"

He glanced at her. "Yeah. You seemed scared when we were running, so I figured I'd better do something about it. We might be doing a lot of running like that in the future, and I could use your help watching my back. I figured that the best way to get you used to it would be to show you how nice things could look from up high." He smiled slightly, then leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Don't worry; I'll never drop you, Kagome.  I still need you." He moved from her side to lean on the railing at the edge of the roof, looking down.

Watching him, Kagome felt a smile come to her lips. He came all the way up her just so she wouldn't be scared? That was awfully… nice of a guy who was planning on killing her. Her smile grew wider as she studied his figure; long white hair blowing in the light wind, slightly loose red T-shirt, tight black jeans… _Nice butt… Ah! Bad Kagome, bad! Still, if I am going to have a protector, it's nice to know he's going to be good-looking…_ Kagome mused. _And sweet, once in a while. Good; I can't stand anyone who's too sappy. And he's strong, handsome, and he's got a pretty good base personality, even if he does tend to be an arrogant, over-bearing, insensitive, self-indulging, egotistical jerk. Plus, those dog ears of his are über-cute. And I just can't help feeling safe around him… Not just because he promised to protect me, but because that's just how it is. I… trust him._

_Is that it?_ Kagome thought, walking over next to him and watching him out of the corner of her eye. _I trust him? Or is it something else? Something deeper?_ He turned his head and smirked at her, gently, and her heart began to beat faster. _Is it… love…?_

Inu-Yasha quirked an eyebrow at her. "You want something?"

Blushing, Kagome shook her head to clear it. "Nothing. I just wanted to say thanks."

Inu-Yasha's expression turned from a quizzical smirk to a warm smile. "Ah." He said, nodding slightly. "You're welcome." He turned back to look at the glowing city, and Kagome followed suit.

_Maybe it is…_

=^-,-^= End Chapter Three =^-,-^=

Awwwww… How cute ^_^… Hope this doesn't turn out to be just forty chapters of romantic tension, or something, tho. That would just be boring.

There was Shippo. You all must admit that he would make a totally hot bishie. Again, one of the main reasons I decided to write this was to portray Shippo this way.

Okay, a few things before I close this up. First off, I've had a couple of conflicting views on Kagome's string of logic from the last chapter. My good friend Teo felt it was too good, while tenshineko felt it was fatally flawed. The truth is, tenshineko is right; there are flaws to it. Kagome's logic was based off of two things. One, that she does, in fact, have the Shikon no Tama in her. While for all purposes of the story this is true, Kagome doesn't know that for sure. Two, that anything that happens to her can potentially harm the Shikon no Tama. And while this is theoretically true (long explanation), we know from the series that it takes something actually cutting Kagome's side to release the jewel. Neither Kagome nor Inu-Yasha know this, however. For all they know, Kagome's soul may be the only thing tying the jewel to the mortal plane in the first place (which it may very well be). So that means, if Inu-Yasha wants the jewel safe and unaffected by Kagome's mood, he has to make sure nothing bad happens to her. What I really needed that logic string for was to make sure that Inu-Yasha had an excuse to stick around Kagome. I'm just too lazy to find a way for the jewel to shatter so they have to go hunting all over the modern world for the shards. Not to mention trying to come up with all sorts of different ideas for monsters and demons to attack them without directly following the manga. So this is what I did. On the plus side (for him, not for us), Inu-Yasha now has a good excuse to worry about Kagome when her feelings get hurt.

*shakes head * Jeez, tenshineko, you are just too good at this. Guessing my plans, that is. I just hope that you haven't figured out everything I plan to do yet, though you'll probably be able to unravel decidedly more by the time the next chapter is over. I am in _deep_ sh/t if you figure out what I plan to do to Kouga before he shows up…

A special hello once again to the Aishiteru Guestbook Gang ^_^! I hope you know what's going on this time. Well, Victory-chan should, at least. If not, I suppose I'll have more explaining to do.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-Yasha, I would probably have done a much worse job with him and the rest of the crew than Takahashi-san has done. For this, I thank her. But I don't own it, and that means that it is the wonderful story we all (supposedly) know and love. Thanks for listening!

Edit (12-31-03, really late at night): Looking back, I can't seem to recall where that 'I'll never drop you' line came from…  seems too sappy for this early in the story… I _really_ should've made Inu-chan more of a jerk.  I couldn't seem to bring myself to delete it, so I altered it a little.  Also, I was somewhat annoyed at the fact that no one seemed to notice that I said '_maybe'_ at the end.  _Maybe_ Kagome is in love; does she know it yet, though?  No!  She has to do a lot of soul-searching before she decides, and things will get more complicated in the future.

Also, I had decided from almost the very beginning that Inu-chan would be a coffee buff; I'm planning a little side-story with that for later…

-socchan


	4. Shippo

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Four: Shippo

A young fox demon sat on the steps outside of Kagome's high school, a guitar in his hands, the case, closed, at his side. He plucked a few random chords as he watched the students file in, identifying if they were human or not out of habit. There were quite a few youkai going to that school, more than many would guess, but it _was_ Tokyo, after all. Absently, he played the opening chords to a song*, then let his voice join it, softly.

"Hello Darkness my old friend,

I've come to talk to you again,

Because a vision softly creeping,

Left its seeds while I was sleeping,

And the vision that was planted in my brain

Still remains

Within the sounds of silence."

People didn't know how vulnerable they were these days. They had fewer values, and the few they had were of lesser importance than what was on television that afternoon. More so in Western culture, but it was spreading with alarming quickness.

"In restless dreams I walked alone

Narrow streets of cobbled stone,

'Neath the halo of a street lamp,

I turned my collar to the cold and damp

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light

That split the night

And touched the sound of silence."

Nothing was real anymore. They hadn't been since the war (WWII), and it was only getting worse as time went on. Youkai knew, but most humans were oblivious, and those who weren't had a hard time spreading the message without it being distorted. Youkai knew better than to try. Eventually, civilization would collapse, and then they would be there to step from the shadows and take over. There were few youkai out there who would give a wit about what happened to humans after the Purging, when demons had to go into hiding or risk extermination. Shippo was one of them, but he didn't often voice his opinion.

"And in the naked light I saw

Ten thousand people, maybe more

People talking without speaking,

People hearing without listening,

People writing songs that voices never share

And no one dared

Disturb the sound of silence."

Shippo had learned to respect the humans very early on. He was still very young when the Purging took place, but a human family had taken him and his parents in, hiding and caring for them, despite their blood. He, in turn, learned to care for them, and, with his family, warned them whenever a rogue youkai or miko hunter neared. He learned that no matter what youkai might do to them, however they might try to crush the humans' spirits, humans would find a way to rise above the youkai and force them once again into submission. He doubted the youkai would ever get complete control without killing all or nearly all the humans on the planet. Peace, Shippo reasoned, was only truly possible with a human uprising, and even then it would take a while. Still, he would like to be there to see it, even if it was in his last years.

"'Fools', said I, 'you do not know

Silence like a cancer grows.

Hear my words that I might teach you,

Take my arms that I might reach you.'

But my words like silent raindrops fell

And echoed

In the wells of silence."

Shippo watched with a faint smile as Kagome neared the school, the hanyou he had seen her with yesterday in tow, this time wearing the school's uniform. Kagome was another reason he thought so highly of humans. She thought well of everyone, and treated them equally. She was also a very powerful miko, even without having realized it or gotten proper training. In addition, she had the Shikon no Tama in her body, and that was a power in itself. Factoring all of that it, it was a miracle she had survived to adolescence, even with his help.

The hanyou noticed Shippo staring at Kagome, and scowled, a faint growl rising in his throat. Shippo smirked visibly as Kagome scolded him, and he yielded like a hurt puppy. Yup, Kagome even treated half-breeds with decency. Of course, she might not consciously realize she was doing it, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew what was going on. Shippo began the last verse.

"And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made.

And the sign flashed out its warning,

In the words that it was forming,

And the sign said the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls,

And tenement halls,

And whispered, in the sound of silence."

"Good morning, Shippo." Kagome said, brightly.

"Morning, Kagome." Shippo returned. "Who's your friend?"

"Ah, Shippo, this is Inu-Yasha. He's the son of a friend of the family. His dad is on a business trip, so he's staying with us for a while." Kagome replied nervously. "Inu-Yasha, this is Shippo. He's in our class."

Inu-Yasha bowed stiffly. "Pleased to meet you," he murmured, a touch of malice in his voice.

Shippo bowed as well. "Likewise, Inu-Yasha. I hope you're with us for a while."

"We'll see." Inu-Yasha muttered, too quiet for Kagome to hear.

Shippo snorted lightly as he packed up his guitar. "We'd better get going," he said, swinging the guitar strap over his shoulder. "Class is going to start soon."

Kagome glanced at her watch and started. "Ah! You're right! C'mon, Inu-Yasha, let's go." Shippo choked back laughter as he watched Kagome drag the struggling hanyou to their classroom. Who could have guessed she'd have such influence over Inu-Yasha?

_Wait a sec…_ Shippo frowned. _Inu-Yasha? Didn't I hear about a hanyou with that name when I was younger? I remember it being one of Mom's favorite fairy tales…_

"Shippo! We're going to be late!" Kagome called to him, derailing his train of thought.

Shippo shook his head, trying to make it back to reality. _Ah, well. I'll figure it out later._ He reasoned. He caught up to Kagome.

Inu-Yasha watched the fox demon out of the corner of his eye. The brat had been discretely staring at him for the entire morning, and Inu-Yasha wanted to know why. He growled low in his throat, so low that only someone with a high ratio of demon blood would have been able to pick it up, and then only someone close by. The dark-haired boy next to him cast him an irritated glare. Inu-Yasha returned it with a condescending one. The boy rolled his eyes and went back to his work. Inu-Yasha snorted, faintly. He'd finished the math problems they'd been given only a few minutes after they were assigned. He glanced at Kagome, who was frowning in frustration at the paper in front of her and his brow creased in concern. Maybe he could do something to help her… After all, she was letting him stay at her house…

What was with that damn fox?! Hadn't he ever seen a hanyou before?! They were rare, admittedly, but a lot less rare than that! Hell, half the people in the class had some percentage of demon blood, though a good deal of it was less than fifty percent pure. There was another couple of full demons, another hanyou, and the boy who'd glared at him earlier had to be at least seven-eighths demon (though how or why, Inu-Yasha didn't care to know). There wasn't exactly much special about _him_. Grumbling, Inu-Yasha resolved to find out just what the fox found so interesting, and soon.

When the lunch bell rang, Inu-Yasha saw his chance. Scowling, he walked up to Shippo. "We need to talk." He stated, plainly.

Shippo met his gaze with mild interest. "Fine. I've been meaning to find an excuse to do that, anyway." He swung his guitar on. "Let's go to the roof; no one should be there now." Without waiting for a reply, he walked out the door, Inu-Yasha tailing him.

Far across the city, a person who appeared to be a young man in his early twenties with coiling black hair neared the end of a search. He stopped by a pit of land that had been undisturbed for centuries, and held out his hand expectantly. Earth exploded outward with a burst of power, and showered down around a wooden box, sealed tight against the ages. Smiling slightly, the person that appeared to be a man stooped and lifted the box up. Flinching a bit as he came in contact with it, he cut open the seal, and opened the box, revealing a skeletal right hand with bits of long-dead flesh still clinging to it. Around it was wrapped a piece of cloth and a Buddhist rosary. Dust was thick around the bottom of the box, except near what used to be the palm of the hand, where a clean spot vortexed out. The hand itself pulsed with unholy energy, even so long after its owner's death. Smiling slightly, the person who appeared to be a man closed the lid. He glanced at the pit, and clumps of scattered earth lifted from the ground to collect in another box at his right. Once the second box was full, the person who appeared to be a man shut and sealed it with a burst of youkai energy. He flicked his wrist, and a handful of enormous wasps came to lift the boxes into the air, and carry them off. The person who appeared to be a man watched them fly off until they were no more than a speck on the horizon, a now familiar unholy smile on his face. "One down…" he addressed the wilderness, almost silently. "Two to go." Turning, Naraku left the desecrated burial ground behind. Soon, the youkai would again be masters of the world, with him at its head.

Inu-Yasha and Shippo stood some distance apart on the otherwise empty roof. Shippo had unpacked his guitar and was now plucking random melodies out of what Inu-Yasha supposed was a nervous habit. Inu-Yasha put that out of his mind as he focused on the task at hand. It appeared that Shippo didn't want to be the first one to speak and, as there were a limited number of people on the roof, that left it up to Inu-Yasha to make the first move. "So why were you staring at me in there?" he asked, bluntly. Inwardly, he winced; this was not the best way to start this sort of conversation, particularly on such uncertain ground for the hanyou, but it was the only way he knew how.

Shippo continued to pluck out melodies, almost absently, as he stared into space. Inu-Yasha was about to ask again when he spoke. "My mom told me a story when I was little. It was about a miko, a hanyou, and a mystical jewel named the Shikon no Tama. There was also a wounded human bandit, but I'll get to him later."

Inu-Yasha looked at Shippo curiously. So far it was familiar, aside from the bandit. As Inu-Yasha pondered this, the fox continued.

"The miko, Kikyo, had been entrusted with the jewel so she could purify it. She was very powerful, and well suited to the task. At the time there lived an inu hanyou named Inu-Yasha. He was drawn to the jewel, but also to Kikyo, gaining her trust in an attempt to get the jewel. Eventually, they grew close, but how close it is hard to say. They had known one another a long while in human terms before things began to go downhill.

"One day Kikyo happened upon the injured human bandit Onigumo. Burns on his body rendered him immobile, and Kikyo gave him her mercy. She looked after him, visiting him periodically, feeding him and dressing his wounds. She was not aware of this, but he could sense her aura, and how her powers faded as she grew closer to the hanyou. Onigumo harbored feelings of his own for her, and would not allow the other two to grow any closer.

"Onigumo struck a deadly blow. He invited demons into his body to gain power so he could obtain the Shikon no Tama. The demons thrived on Onigumo's already corrupt soul. With the power he received from them, Onigumo took the guise of Inu-Yasha and destroyed Kikyo's village, mortally wounding her in the process.

"Details get sketchy from there, and there get to be about a dozen different endings, but the most popular amongst the current demon community has Kikyo giving the Shikon no Tama to Inu-Yasha with the last of her strength. Inu-Yasha uses the jewel to become a full demon and hunt down and kill Onigumo." Shippo met Inu-Yasha's eyes for the first time since he began the tale, holding his gaze with a solemnity the hanyou hadn't expected. "I suppose, though, that if you're any indication, most of those endings can be tossed out the window."

Inu-Yasha closed his eyes and raised a hand to massage his temples. "I never knew about Onigumo…" he murmured. He turned back to Shippo. "Kikyo thought it was me who ransacked the village, and pinned me to a tree with a holy arrow for the last three or four centuries. Kagome woke me up three days ago, so that's sort-of why I'm staying with her."

Shippo whistled, softly. "So you don't know about the Purging?"

Inu-Yasha frowned. "The what?"

The fox shook his head. "Never mind. I'll explain later. Let's just say that there aren't that many demons outside the big city. They're even a little closely packed here."

Inu-Yasha blinked. "Why's that?"

Shippo gave a pained smile. "Most of them are subconsciously drawn in by the power of the Shikon no Tama. A few have other reasons, but not many. The reason they are only subconsciously drawn is the fact that most of the demon community as a whole believes the Shikon no Tama has already been used up, so they don't go looking for it. Once in a while though, there are a few problems."

A growl worked its way up Inu-Yasha's throat, and he struggled to suppress it. "Problems?"

Shippo shrugged. "Soon as I figured out what the strange energy that dragged me here was, I started keeping an eye on our little 'carrier'. She purified a demon that was attacking her when she was two years old without even realizing it. When she was five, she brought down one in her sleep. About that time her aura had seeped into enough of her property that lesser demons were pretty much kept at bay, but some of the more powerful ones could still get through. I started picking them off myself before she turned seven, because by then she would be able to figure out that there were things around her that weren't supposed to be, and that would've turned her world upside-down and endangered her more in the process." He sighed, heavily. "However, the more powerful demons are only now beginning to realize what's right under their noses, and they're going to attack more… formulaically. I might have a problem with them."

"And you?" Inu-Yasha asked, evenly. "What do you want with the Shikon no Tama?"

Shippo looked away. "I don't want it." He said, quietly. "I'm not interested in those kinds of power games. If Kagome wants to give it to me, I'll take it, but other than that…" He shook his head. "I don't want to see her hurt, though. She's too important."

Inu-Yasha looked at Shippo suspiciously. "Do you, ah…" he started, fumbling for what he was trying to say, "Do you… have any… feelings…"

Shippo watched him a moment, a confused look on his face, then laughed. "Oh, Gods, no! Nothing like that! I'm not interested in Kagome _that_ way. She's not my type; besides, after all this time, she's almost like a _sister_ to me! What I mean by important is, if humans and youkai ever go to war, she may be the human side's only chance of winning."

Inu-Yasha released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Relief flooded through him, followed closely by confusion. Why would he be relieved that Shippo wasn't interested in Kagome? He shook it off and chose not to think about it. "Fox," he addressed Shippo, "You are too damn political."

Shippo chuckled. "I guess. I suppose you're going to be helping me protect Kagome?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "You could put it that way. I don't exactly plan to let anyone kill her, if that's what you mean."

Shippo grinned. "Good enough. Do you think you could help me break the news to her? I've been trying to think of a good way to do it for years."

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "You mean about the Shikon no Tama? Don't worry, she already knows. She knows I'm a hanyou, too. I could tell her you're a demon, though."

Shippo looked taken aback for a moment, then grinned and shook his head. "I forgot how blunt people were in the Warring States era. Don't worry, I'll tell her myself. I could use your backup, though."

Inu-Yasha nodded. "Fine. When do you want to tell her?"

"Probably this afternoon." Shippo replied. "C'mon," he said, packing up his guitar, "We've already missed most of lunch, and I don't want to go into any major confrontations on an empty stomach."

Inu-Yasha nodded. It looked as if he was going to have to tell her about his decision sooner than planned.

=^-,-^= End Chapter Four =^-,-^=

*Sounds of Silence is copyright Simon and Garfunkel. Good stuff. My mom got me addicted to it. That stuff at the beginning was partly an excuse for my own little political rant, and partly a reason for Shippo to be okay with humans in general. If you have problems with it, please feel free to contact me with them. But don't you think that Shippo makes the most bishonen musician?! Hee hee, natural guitar picks, too ^_~. Gotta love it.

Anyhow, my number one reason for writing this fic appears in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

Tenshineko? If you happen to guess what I'm planning to do with Naraku and the dirt clods would you contact me in private? I want to make sure _some_ people are surprised by it at least. And I shouldn't be glad you haven't guessed what I'm planning for Kouga yet, but I can't help it; I am. And stop reading my mind!

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-Yasha, I would probably have done a much worse job with him and the rest of the crew than Takahashi-san has done. For this, I thank her. But I don't own it, and that means that it is the wonderful story we all (supposedly) know and love. Thanks for listening!

Edit (1-1-04): First edit job of the New Year.  Didn't change much in this chapter, just the few typos I could find by scanning.  'Course, I _liked_ this chapter.

-socchan


	5. Yura of the Hair Salon

Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Five: Yura of the Hair Salon

The short, fair youkai female smiled and waved as her customer left, a bell ringing. She turned, and the false smile slipped from her face to be replaced by a look of disgust. "Oh, dear." She said, a vicious note in her voice, "What's to be done with all this hair lying about and untidying the floor? I know…" A wicked smile appeared in place of the disgusted look. "I'll just add it to my… collection." The woman pulled a fine bone comb from where it was hiding behind her thick red headband. She held it in front of her and turned it in the air, revealing dozens of nearly invisible hairs caught between its teeth. She manipulated the end of a thick hair free, and teased it into splitting. Youkai magic poured into the scattered hairs on the floor, and it lifted off the ground to attach itself to the ends the woman was holding. She closed her hand around the new clump of hair, stroking it gently. "Tra la la… Such lovely hair…"

Kagome sat attentively in class as the teacher lectured on about the Warring States era when her thought process was interrupted by a piece of folded paper bouncing off her head to come to a rest on the desk in front of her. Frowning, she unfolded it and read the single phrase in surprisingly neat (if old-fashioned) handwriting:

_Do you want help with your math work?_

_-Inu_

Kagome frowned and scribbled a hasty reply.

_Why are you offering to help me with math if you're going to kill me? No homework was one of the good things about dying._

She waited until the teacher's back was turned, then tossed the paper back. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Inu-Yasha wrote a reply and threw it back to her.

_I decided not to kill you after all. You might be useful to have around. Now do you want help in math, or not? If you want to be fair, you can help me catch up in History in exchange._

Kagome bit back a smile. Inu-Yasha wasn't going to kill her. More, he thought she might be useful. Okay, so it wasn't the best, but it was a helluva lot better than dying. A warm feeling started to spread out from her chest at how thoughtful he was being. Quickly, before someone would notice, she wrote down her reply.

_Deal._

She bent down, dropped the folded note on the floor, and, making sure no one was watching, kicked it over to where Inu-Yasha was sitting. She watched as he pretended to drop a pencil, picked up the note, read it, and smirked. Thus, he was unprepared for the chalk that came sailing across the room to hit him in the head. "Inu-Yasha!" the teacher barked. "If you can't find it in yourself to pay attention, I suggest you stand in the hall for the remainder of the period."

Inu-Yasha opened his mouth to protest, then shut it and scowled. "Yes, ma'am." He gritted out, rising from his seat. As he passed Kagome's desk, he dropped the note onto it. Then, sparing her a quick glance, he walked out the door into the hall, only stopping to pick up a couple buckets of water with an arrogant smirk. Once the teacher turned back to the board, Kagome opened the note again.

_Good. Meet in my room after dinner, and we'll see how much you know._

Smiling slightly at the hanyou's bluntness, Kagome folded the note back up and tucked it into her bag, turning her attention back to class with difficulty.

The bell rang to signal the end of classes, and Kagome sighed in relief. She hadn't been that distracted in class since… Kagome paused in packing as she tried to think of a comparable event, without success. She sighed and shook her head. _That jerk brings out the worst in me…_ Closing her backpack, she picked it up and ran after him.

Much to Kagome's surprise, he was waiting for her with Shippo outside the front door. She blinked; those two must really have hit it off. She slipped on a friendly smile. "Ready to go?"

Inu-Yasha nodded, curtly, while Shippo did so more absently. "Yeah," Shippo said, "I'm ready."

Kagome frowned slightly. "Are you okay, Shippo?"

He glanced at her. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Her frown deepened. "If you're sure…"

He locked gazes with her. "I'm sure." He said, firmly.

"Alright…" Kagome changed the subject. "Is anyone up for ice cream?" She watched as Inu-Yasha perked when she said this. "My treat."

Shippo smiled. "Sure!"

Inu-Yasha tried to look indifferent. He shrugged. "Keh. Whatever."

Kagome suppressed a giggle. "Great! I know this great little shop by the park. The girls and Hojo are probably already there." She started to walk off, catching the sleeve of Inu-Yasha's uniform so she could drag him behind her. She was surprised when he pulled back a little. She turned to look at him.

"Hojo?" he asked, a deadly edge to his voice.

"Ah!" Kagome exclaimed. "That's right, you don't know him. He's Aiko's boyfriend."

Inu-Yasha blinked. "Aiko's…?"

Kagome nodded. "Yeah. We went out for a little while, but he just wasn't my type. A little too, um, naïve, I guess."

He nodded, unsure of where his relief was coming from. "Right. I'll remember that."

Shippo smirked slightly. "Jealous?" he murmured, too softly for Kagome to pick up.

Inu-Yasha clenched his teeth in an attempt to keep his temper in check. "You're imagining things, Fox-boy." he hissed back.

The amused look on the young (relatively) youkai's face grew. "Whatever you say, Inu-Yasha." He turned to address Kagome. "You said something about ice cream?"

Yura looked up from where she was styling a female youkai's hair; she felt an odd energy signature coming her way. Focusing her energy, she slipped into an almost trance-like state, continuing to work as she searched for the source of the energy. She got a good lock on it, and her eyes widened slightly as she realized it was growing. If the power was that great, and it wasn't even completely in her range, she did not like to think of how huge it could be.

Her scissors almost slipped when the energy pattern finally stabilized: it was _enormous_! She quickly glanced down to make sure she hadn't cut anything she didn't want to, then her focus returned to the energy signature.

There were three—no, four distinct energy signatures moving towards her shop. There was one full youkai, a hanyou with an impressive power level for being only half-blooded, and two inter-mingling energies she could not quite place. She was relieved to see that the energy she had first sensed came from two sources instead of one, but they were frightening nonetheless. She frowned slightly, trying to pick apart the signatures.

"Is something wrong?" the youkai female asked, slightly irritated.

Yura blinked, then smiled, cheerfully. "Nothing's wrong. I'll be done in a moment, tra la." She concentrated back on the energy.

Yura dropped the scissors when she at last realized what it was she was sensing. "Oh, my." She murmured. The youkai female shifted impatiently. "I just remembered there's something I have to do. Eimi, be a dear and finish this up, would you?" One of the assistants nodded and stepped forward, taking Yura's place.

"You'd better not have messed anything up." The youkai growled.

Yura smiled. "Do not worry about it. Everything is still going well, and Eimi is one of my better stylists." The girl blushed slightly at the praise. "Since I have to leave without warning, I'll also give you a ten percent discount, tra la."

The youkai female shifted, her movements taking on a rather smug air. "All right," she said, "But if that girl miss-cuts one hair—"

"Don't worry," Yura assured her, "Eimi will not fail you. Or me," she said, glaring sharply at the girl in warning. "Now I really must be going. I will see you later, ma'am." Yura turned and marched swiftly to the back stairs. These she took in leaps and bounds until she reached the roof. Once again, Yura whipped out the bone comb, and a network of hairs was revealed. Yura closed her eyes and twisted the comb slightly, sending out a pulse of energy along the web. Within seconds the city was mapped out in her mind, as well as the location of the strange power source. Yura's eyes flashed open, and, replacing the comb, she dashed out along the now invisible hairs to the energy she desired.

Kagome gook a spoonful of ice cream from the dish in front of her and popped it in her mouth, relishing the taste. She, Shippo, and Inu-Yasha were sitting at a different table from her other friends, their excuse being that theirs was already full, though their winks and giggles as she sat next to Inu-Yasha made their story highly suspect. Not that she minded sitting next to him—quite the opposite, in fact—but their less-than-subtle teasing and matchmaking was beginning to grate her nerves. She tried to put it out of her mind by scooping another spoonful into her mouth. Inu-Yasha was eating his with the deliberance of a prisoner who wasn't sure if it was a trick (and didn't want to find out), and Shippo was eating his with a familiar distraction. Noticing this, Kagome set down her spoon with a sigh.

"Okay, guys, enough is enough. Inu-Yasha, it's not poisoned, and I'm not going to take it away. Shippo, your innocence ploy has gone on quite long enough, and whatever it is that's bothering you can't be as painful as you're making it out to be, so I demand that you spill at once." She finished this remark with a sharp glare at each one in turn, to show that she meant business.

Inu-Yasha looked somewhat sheepishly between the bowl and Kagome, then dug his spoon in with more relish.

Shippo had the decency to blush slightly at being caught. Following this, he set his spoon down and pushed his bowl away with a sigh. "Knowing that you know what you do isn't going to make this any easier." He confessed with a slight smile. Kagome blinked in confusion, and waited for him to continue. "First off, Kagome, you're a miko, and a damn powerful one at that. Which is most definitely a good thing if you want to protect the Shikon no Tama and _yourself_ from the less-than-benign powers that are out to cause trouble for one reason or another." Kagome stared at him, openmouthed. "Second, I'm not human; I'm a fox youkai. And third, I would like to _openly_ help you and Inu-Yasha protect the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome stared for another minute or so as she processed what Shippo had just said. Finally, she shut her mouth. "Okay…" she said, slowly. "I suppose I can swallow most of that. But you," she directed a pointed glare at Shippo, "have a lot of explaining to do. Starting by what you mean by 'openly'."

Shippo half-smiled. "You tend to draw a lot of… unwanted attention. For quite a while now I've been diverting it without you knowing. That's what I meant by 'openly'."

"And everything else?"

"Luckily I anticipated this, so I think it's best we start with a short history lesson. But this isn't the time or place to do it—too many prying senses."

Kagome blinked. "Huh?"

Shippo met her gaze, and, while his mouth still smiled slightly, his eyes were serious. "The walls have ears, Kagome. More than just that, too. If we want to talk safely, we should do it around your house."

"He's right you now." Inu-Yasha interjected, licking his spoon. "There's youkai of every shape, size, and kind imaginable. Some, for example, can control and understand insects. So if there was a fly anywhere near here, a demon with those powers could ask it what we said, and the fly would conceivably be able to tell it that you had the Shikon no Tama." He scanned the spoon for any remnants of ice cream. "Which would probably spell more trouble for us. Whereas, at the shrine, for example, the collective magics of priests and priestesses building up over centuries, as well as the power of prayer, would be able to block any listening spells people may try to set up." He set the spoon down and looked up at Kagome to gauge her reaction.

Shippo nodded, appreciatively. "Very nice, Inu-Yasha, very nice indeed. I didn't know you had it in you. Where'd you pull _that_ string of logic from?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged, indifferently. "When you hang around a shrine as much as I did, you kinda pick things up by osmosis. Besides, when I lived, if you didn't at least know the basics, you didn't live very long."

"Yeah, but that's hardly basic stuff." Shippo argued. "While pretty much everything that can sense magic can tell there's a protective aura around a shrine, why it's there is less widely known. In addition, fewer people still know how much power can go into prayer."

"Those were different times!" Inu-Yasha defended. "You _had_ to know stuff then!"

"I lived then, too, and I didn't know half of that until I took it upon myself to find out. Not many demons choose to study human magic." Shippo pointed out.

"Okay, fine, you caught me." Inu-Yasha grumbled. "When I was a kid, a really little one mind you, Dad used to try and find ways of keeping Mom safe. I was a curious little shit, so I ended up picking up a helluva lot of information on magical practice and theory. You happy now, you little fuck?" Inu-Yasha glared daggers at Shippo.

Shippo decided that now would not be a good time to test the limits of the hanyou's temper. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Good." Inu-Yasha growled.

Kagome glanced between the two of them. It was entertaining to say the least, but she had to remember that some of this stuff might actually mean the difference between life and death. Then, she glanced down at her bowl. "Well, if you guys are finished, then I think I know just the place." She said, rising to her feet. "And, if not, I always have studying to do."

Inu-Yasha stood, and caught her shoulder before she could take so much as a step. "Oh, no you don't, bitch." He growled, softly. "We're getting this sorted out, and we're getting it sorted out _now_, with _you_ present."

Kagome didn't allow her satisfaction to show on her face. She turned to him with as innocent a smile as she could muster on her face. "Whatever you say, Inu-Yasha." She said, sweetly. She waited for Shippo to take care of the trash, then waved 'good-bye' to her friends and walked out the door, males in tow.

Yura watched from the roof of the ice cream parlor as she waited for her quarry to exit. _So, the power I sensed was the fabled Shikon no Tama… This should make things interesting…_ She smiled slightly as a girl with dark hair dragged a boy with surprisingly long similarly colored hair out the door. _That must be the miko… and the hanyou…_ They were followed closely by a boy with red-orange hair swept into a ponytail at the base of his skull. _And that would be the fox youkai._ A smile touched Yura's lips. _I will attack the girl when she is the most vulnerable. Tonight will do. But first, I must make sure I don't loose track of her._ Yura teased a hair free from the web with her comb. "Go." She whispered to it, "Follow the girl."

The hair paused for a moment, finding its intended target, then sped invisibly through the air to attach itself to the girl's wrist. Yura smiled, and giggled lightly. "It would be so enjoyable to track this girl myself. Still, I have work that needs to be done, and tonight should more than make up for what's been lost." She giggled again, her eyes flashing ever so briefly red. "Tra-la-la! Oh, this will be so much fun!" Still smiling slightly, Yura dashed back in the direction of her salon; she had to get ready for tonight.

On the streets below, Kagome laughed at Inu-Yasha's antics, oblivious of what the youkai woman had planned for her.

=^-,-^= End Chapter Five =^-,-^=

Yup ^_^! The very phrase 'Yura of the Hair Salon' was what gave me the initiative to go about writing this story. The number one reason. Unfortunately, Skittles seems to have gotten to the idea of giving Yura her own salon first, so I can't take any credit for it, but I refuse to go all 'sour grapes'! It's like I always say: Great minds are susceptible to similar wavelengths.

I didn't mean you _couldn't_ guess, tenshineko. I just meant that if you wanted your guesses concerning Naraku's activities confirmed or disproved, I would prefer you mailed them to me privately. I don't want _everyone_ in on my plans. And for the record, yeah, sure, Shippo's mature. Or adolescent at least. I am _not_ about to go into a huge debate about the theories of youkai aging. Now stop asking already! More will be cleared up in the next chapter. Plus, action sequences. And, just 'cause I feel like it, a shirtless Inu. So be sure to stay tuned. And I do still like reviews. All kinds. I'll try and answer questions, if you have them, too.

*cricket noises *

Right. I'll see you next week, I guess.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-Yasha, I would probably have done a much worse job with him and the rest of the crew than Takahashi-san has done. For this, I thank her. But I don't own it, and that means that it is the wonderful story we all (supposedly) know and love. Thanks for listening!

Edit (1-1-04): Not much changed here, either, though I would like to point out that at the time Inu-chan was alive, ice cream had indeed been invented.  I was actually somewhat surprised not to get any questions about how Inu-chan didn't ask what ice cream was.  Maybe everyone knew that already.  Or maybe you didn't notice.  Or maybe you didn't care.  Whatever.

-socchan


	6. Attack

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Six: Attack

Kagome closed the door to the little wooden shed behind her. "This is the well house," she explained. "When I was little, I used to hide and play games here. It was almost like it was part of a different world…" She smiled, ruefully. "Seems silly, now that I think about it."

Shippo shook his head, that strange half-smile of his in place. "No, it makes sense. There's ancient magic imbedded in these walls. And the well, now that I think of it. It's no wonder it seemed like a different world to you."

Inu-Yasha was frowning slightly. "There was a well… by the village, I think… they called it the Bone Eater's Well, because when they threw demon remains in it, they would disappear." He shook his head. "Funny I should be reminded of it now." His gaze snapped to Kagome, and he scowled. "Oi, wench. You going to take these beads off me, or not?"

"Ah, right." Kagome walked over to where Inu-Yasha stood, and lifted the necklace over his head. Inu-Yasha let out a relieved breath as his features returned to normal.

Shippo watched, entranced. "So that's how you do it. I was wondering how you pulled that off. The spellwork is absolutely fascinating. So intricate…"

"Hey, Fox, I thought you were going to teach us some history or something, not blab about magic." Inu-Yasha interjected.

Shippo snapped back to reality. "Oh! Sorry." He blushed slightly. "I was going to tell you about the Purging, wasn't I?" He sat down on the dirt floor with his back to the well. Kagome and Inu-Yasha followed suit. "It started around the end of the Warring States era. All of a sudden, humans stopped really being afraid of youkai and ghosts and whatnot, so they banded together to wipe them out. At the forefront was a band of demon exterminators from the place where the Shikon no Tama was born. Suddenly, youkai were being killed off left and right, and we were forced to do whatever we could to stay alive. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't. Eventually, the stronger ones developed ways of blocking their auras from the taiji-ya sensors. We found ways of disguising our appearances, so humans wouldn't be able to tell what we were." He held up a hand and the air around it rippled, then fingernails molded into claws. He frowned a bit, and they returned to normal. "It's an ancient spell, old and strong, and more than one demon misused it, but they paid for it in the end." He shook his head sadly. "No matter what we did, we were never able to hide from each other, and we still can't. Most of us think it's for the best. My parents and I found relative safety with a family of humans that just wanted it all to end.

"Then, it happened. A demon named Naraku rose up and gathered power. He attacked the taiji-ya village with his followers, and wiped out almost everyone there. They, in turn, were killed by a returning hunting party, but not before most of the party was taken out as well, some by their own members, controlled by youkai magic. The remaining taiji-ya believed that there were still more demons out there, and wanted revenge, but the humans didn't believe them. The exterminators had no proof, and the humans wanted the war to end. So at last, their numbers greatly reduced, the demons were allowed to walk free from their hiding places, nothing more than legend. That is what is known today as the Purging. There's a good deal more to it than that, but that's a general outline." Shippo relaxed against the wall surrounding the well. "Any questions?" Inu-Yasha and Kagome shook their heads almost in unison, too distracted at the moment to notice. Shippo smiled slightly. This would indeed be amusing. "Good." He said, rising to his feet. "If that's everything, then I'll be on my way. I've still got homework to do." He walked past the still out-of-it hanyou and miko, slid open the door, stepped out, and, with one last amused glance over his shoulder at the two, closed it again.

Kagome stared at the wall a moment as her thoughts collected themselves. If so much in human history had already been forgotten, how much more might also have been lost? She blinked, then shook her head to clear it before she backed herself into a mental corner. There would be plenty of time for pondering and headaches later. She stood, and cuffed Inu-Yasha lightly on the head to snap him out of his trance. She slid open the door to the well house, letting sunshine stream in. "Up, boy!" she commanded. "I don't want to sit around in this uniform all day, do you?"

Inu-Yasha started, then rose to his feet with a growl. "Bitch…" he snarled, lightly. "You'll pay for that."

Kagome laughed, and stuck her tongue out. "Gonna have to catch me, first!" With a grin, Kagome started running.

Inu-Yasha growled again, truthfully more amused than angry. He took his time picking up his stuff, allowing Kagome to build on her head start, then walked calmly into open forest, closing the door gently behind him. After all, where would the fun be if there was no challenge? Then, with a truly evil grin, he took off running after the girl, not sparing anything to catch up.

Inu-Yasha flopped down in the chair by his desk with a satisfied sigh. He had caught Kagome quite easily earlier that afternoon, but the stubborn girl refused to give up without a fight, starting something she called a 'tickle war'. He'd had to be careful not to catch her with a claw, but all in all it had been quite fun. He smiled, remembering the sight of Kagome breathless with laughter, her grin ready to split her face in half. She looked very pretty like that.

Inu-Yasha blinked. Where had _that_ thought come from? "Must be because she looks so much like Kikyo," he muttered, rationalizing it. Still, there was a nagging feeling that there might be more to it than that.

He scowled. He couldn't think like that right now! He had work to do, and dinner was over (something very nice Kagome's mother had made called 'ramen', apologizing for not being able to cook anything more fancy) so he couldn't put it off any longer. With a muffled _thump_ he dropped his textbook on his desk and flipped it to the appropriate page. He was about to get started when a light knocking on the door interrupted him. He frowned slightly, flicking his ears back and sniffing gently to identify who it was. He grunted. "Come in." he called, "Door's open."

Blushing slightly, Kagome entered the room and closed the door behind her. A textbook was clutched to her chest, as if for security. "Um…" she started. "You said you would help me with math?"

Inu-Yasha nodded. "Right. Come on over and take a seat." Kagome hesitated, so he moved over a bit.

"Um," Kagome wavered. "Where do I sit?"

Inu-Yasha smacked his forehead in frustration, and stood. "Here, you take the chair; I'll stand."

Kagome glanced at him. "You're sure?"

Inu-Yasha leveled a skeptical look at her. "Unless you want to sit in my lap or something." He ventured.

Kagome turned bright red, and Inu-Yasha fought the urge to smirk. Gods, this was fun. "Um, no, this is fine." Tentatively, she walked forward and sat down, setting down her book where there was a clear spot.

"Right." Inu-Yasha said, leaning over her. "Let's see what you're having problems with."

Gratefully, Kagome opened the book to the concept she'd had the most difficulty grasping. "It's just all these variables." She explained. "I just can't seem to figure out which one goes where…"

Far above the city, and just outside the hanyou's range of detection, the demoness known as Yura prepared. She was clothed in a revealing battle outfit she had not worn in years (why, not since the Purging, in fact), and at her side was strapped an ancient sword, fused with Yura's youkai energy. The hilt was wrapped in her own hair, and the blade was sharp and ready at her side. The comb was again tucked safely behind her headband, but even without it ready to manipulate hairs at will, Yura was alert and expectant. Soon she would be able to initiate her attack. Her eyes narrowed at the thought, and her lips turned up in a smile befitting her nature. _Soon, indeed…_

Kagome curled up in bed contentedly, pulling the covers up to her chin. It felt good to know what she was doing in math, at least to some extent. She'd also been able to figure out about when Inu-Yasha was last 'awake', and had managed to fit in a brief history lesson before it was time to go to bed. A satisfied smile rooted itself on Kagome's face; she'd had fun learning things, and she'd gotten to spend time with Inu-Yasha. In her mind, it was time well spent. She was, of course, fully prepared to deny any and all enjoyment of the experience should she be confronted about it. Still smiling, Kagome let her eyes drift shut.

She snapped them open again when she heard noise at her door, then sighed in relief when it turned out only to be her cat. Buyo butted open the door with his head, then jumped onto her bed, almost falling off. Kagome giggled slightly. Unaffronted, Buyo continued up the bed until he rested on the pillow next to her, then curled up and closed his eyes. Kagome smiled at the cat warmly. "Were you worried about me spending time with that jerk, Buyo?" she cooed.

Buyo cracked an eye open. "Mrooow." He stated.

Kagome rubbed his head and he leaned into her touch, purring. "You don't need to worry, Buyo. He's not going to hurt me. At least, I'm pretty sure he's not."

Buyo yawned widely, then closed his eyes again, laying down his head once more. Kagome gazed at him affectionately. "Silly cat," she murmured, then settled down to sleep herself.

On Kagome's right wrist, an invisible hair sent a pulse of energy out, signaling its master that the girl was, indeed, asleep. Smiling faintly, Yura went over her strategy one last time, and moved in to attack.

Inu-Yasha wasn't sure what had awoken him, but he knew at once that something was wrong. Silently, he tried to sense the energy patterns around him, checking to make sure Kagome's was safe and whole. He cursed as he sensed youkai energy right above him, and threw back the blankets, almost jumping out of bed. He dashed up the stairs to Kagome's room, not bothering to get dressed. He threw open the door to find Kagome floating in mid-air above her bed, seeming to be still asleep. A wide-awake panicky cat hung beside her, turning and twisting and clawing at something he couldn't see. A youkai woman stood by the window, a naked sword in her hand, eyes glowing menacingly in the darkness.

Inu-Yasha scowled. "What the fuck do you think you're doing to Kagome?" he demanded, brandishing his claws.

The youkai tilted her head towards him and blinked. "Tra-la?" She seemed to study him as he stood there, and a growl rose in his throat. "Who might this be?" she inquired whimsically.

"I asked you a fucking question, bitch." Inu-Yasha snarled. "And you'd better answer it, or you'll have to face the consequences." He cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

Yura tilted her head in the other direction, then smiled suddenly, as inspiration struck. "Ah! You're the hanyou that was with her this afternoon, correct? I hadn't realized you were awake." She turned her attention back to Kagome. "Do not worry; I only want the Shikon no Tama, and then I will be gone." She regarded him from the corner of her eye. "Feel free to stop by my salon sometime, and I'll give you a discount. You've got such lovely hair, it's a shame you're not doing anything with it."

Inu-Yasha's growl rose in volume. "The jewel's not yours to take!"

The youkai turned her head to regard him cooly. "Oh? And I suppose you think it's yours?"

"Hell yes!"

"Then why do you not possess it?"

Inu-Yasha faltered at this. "I—um…"

The youkai turned her gaze back to Kagome. "It does not matter. I will take it anyway, in the end."

"You lay one fucking hand on Kagome, and I'll snap it off and shove it where the sun don't shine. Then, I'll tear you in so many pieces, you'll never be able to pull yourself back together!"

Yura laughed maniacally. "I'd like to see you try, boy."

With a snarl of rage, Inu-Yasha charged at the youkai woman, only to be lifted in the air, his limbs trapped by what felt like invisible threads.

The first thing Kagome noticed when she came to was that she was not, in fact, in her bed, but suspended several feet above it. The second thing she noticed was that Inu-Yasha wasn't wearing a shirt. _Damn, he's well built. I wonder if he works out? Probably not. After all, he was sort-of in suspended animation for the last four or five centuries, so it's more likely to be natural. That probably means he'll always be in good shape. Another plus. Wait… What was that thought earlier about being several feet above my bed?_ Kagome shifted slightly and glanced below her, swallowing a scream. She was suspended in the air by a system of threads. She clenched her eyes shut. _Okay, Kagome, don't panic. You can get out of this, you just need to think it through. Now I want you to open your eyes and _calmly _assess the situation._ Nervously, Kagome cracked an eye open.

Threads held her limbs in place, looping under her like a hammock. Buyo, likewise suspended and eyes wide with fright, was a few feet away from her head. He didn't seem to be struggling, but he was breathing hard and didn't look as if he liked the position he was in much. Inu-Yasha was trapped in pretty much the same situation she was, a spider web of threads holding his limbs in place. _No good…_ Kagome thought, frowning. _He's nice to look at, but I don't know how he'll be any help all tied up like that._ She let her eyes linger a moment longer before giving herself a mental shove to get back to work.

A flash of movement caught her eye. _Hello…_ A revealingly dressed woman was making her way towards Kagome. A katana dangled from her right hand, and threads looped around her fingers, a few trailing back to her head. _So they're not threads after all… That means they must be… her hairs…_ Kagome's eyes widened a fraction. _I sure hope she practices good hygiene._ With an effort of will, Kagome forced her thoughts back on track. Her eyes trailed carefully down the hairs looped around the woman's fingers to their eventual positions in relation to the rest of the room. A flash of inspiration struck as faint moonlight played against the katana's edge—but how to tell Inu-Yasha her plan without the intruder knowing? A memory from that afternoon replayed itself in her mind—a picture of Shippo and Inu-Yasha lecturing about magical theory and practice on the way home from the ice cream parlor—and Kagome's plan was complete. It was a mere skeletal structure, sure, and there were more than a few ways it could collapse, but it was a plan, which was better than she'd had a few minutes ago, so she'd make do.

_Now, if you want to soundproof a small area for a short amount of time—which is less than this discussion will take, mind you— _Shippo had said, _you need to have a clear memory of the basic aura of a holy place, then apply it to an area and hold it there for as long as you need it to be in effect. It takes intense physical and mental concentration, and leaves the user pretty much drained when they're done, which is why I didn't use it in the parlor._

_Spells like this also tend to work better if you have a magical object to anchor them to._ Inu-Yasha added. _You don't really need more than a spark of magic to activate the spell, but keeping it going can take a bit more than that._

Kagome smiled grimly, got a clear memory of the feeling she got in the well house, and started to apply it to the area around Inu-Yasha and herself—then stopped. A wicked smile moved into place where the grim one had been. Kagome focused on the air around the youkai, creating a bubble of normal space that projected a shrine's aura. The youkai would no longer be able to hear anything that was said in the room, but it was tiring Kagome out quickly. Frantically, she searched for something to tie the spell to. She didn't really have anything herself, and she didn't trust anything of her grandfather's to be useful, but what about… Well, why couldn't she use it? It was in _her_ body, after all. Without another thought, Kagome secured the spell to the Shikon no Tama.

It was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Kagome breathed deeply, only now realizing it had been a labor before. She collected her thoughts, and hissed out a single phrase. "Inu-Yasha!"

The hanyou's ears twitched in her direction and his eyes landed on her figure, widening slightly in shock. "Kagome?" he asked, incredulous. "You're awake? But, what about—"

"There's not time for that!" Kagome snapped. "She can't hear us for now, but who knows how long that will last! Can you move?"

Inu-Yasha blinked. "Yeah, but—"

"Then do it! Raise your right arm. You should be able to cut the hairs with her own blade."

Understanding dawned on Inu-Yasha's face, and the familiar arrogant smirk took its rightful place. "Right. You'll have to tell me where to move—I can't see the hair." He lifted his arm, and the threads cut neatly on his enemy's blade. Brandishing his claws, he sliced blindly at the air around his other limbs. He watched in satisfaction as Yura's eyes widened in shock; apparently, Kagome's spell also made her immobile. He dropped to his feet.

"There's a gap in the hairs about a yard off the ground in front of you." Kagome gasped out, the price of the spell starting to catch up with her again. A bead of sweat rolled down her nose. "Jump through and slice around her hands. That should incapacitate her long enough for one of us to take her out."

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow. "'One of us'?"

Kagome glared at him through damp bangs. "Just do it, dog-boy, or I'll 'sit' you good the next time you put on the necklace."

Inu-Yasha looked back at the seemingly empty room to Yura. Steeling himself, he jumped through the space Kagome had indicated. To Yura's absolute fury, he landed unhindered. Directing a cocky grin at the youkai woman, Inu-Yasha dug his claws shallowly into the skin on his chest. He withdrew them, and the wounds immediately began healing. Smirking widely, Inu-Yasha slashed at the air in between him and Yura, directing knife-like youkai energy outward and crying out "Claws of blood!" Iron magic tore through the air, biting through the threads that held Kagome captive; she landed on her bed with a slight 'omph!', followed shortly by Buyo, who did indeed manage to get his feet underneath him on time. Yura herself sustained a large gash, and Inu-Yasha could not suppress the satisfied grin that ran rampant across his face. Yura snarled and shouted many colorful phrases while pounding hard against her magical prison.

Meanwhile, Kagome was making progress of her own towards the woman. Panting, she crawled across the floor until she reached where Yura stood. Promising herself she would sterilize her hand later, Kagome reached out to grab Yura's foot. Finding herself in a bit of a compromising position, Kagome was forced to release the spell that kept Yura imprisoned (to the youkai's momentary triumph) so she could send a blast of pure magic through her. Yura screamed, and lit up like a match. Within moments, she was reduced to a pile of ash, a rather burnt bone comb lying on top. Yura's network of hairs also went up in smoke, a katana lying in pieces by the ash pile evidence of this.

Inu-Yasha picked up the blade and ran his fingers over the edge. He nodded appreciatively when they came away slightly bloody. "That's good steel. The bitch had good taste." He regarded Kagome from the corner of his eye. "You should purify it and make it into something useful."

Kagome blinked, tiredly. "Oh? You don't want it?"

He shrugged. "You killed her; it's your prize."

"Ah. Right then." She smiled weakly, then turned her head to look at the ash pile. "You know, I think this could be considered the first recorded case of spontaneous youkai combustion."

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "You are more trouble than you're worth sometimes, you know that wench?"

"No 'm not." Kagome protested. "Otherwise, you'd still be goin' to kill me."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "Yeah, sure."

"Inu-Yasha?"

He turned to look at her. "Hmm?"

"Gimme a hand up?" Inu-Yasha set down the sword blade, and reached out to take Kagome's hand. With a heavy tug, Kagome lurched to her feet. Inu-Yasha was suddenly aware of how close they were. He swallowed. Kagome smiled prettily up at him. "Thanks for your help, Inu-Yasha. I never could have done it without you. For some reason, I'm really drained. I think it might be because…" Kagome didn't finish her sentence. She toppled forward, out like a light.

Lightning quick, Inu-Yasha's hand shot out to catch her. "Kagome!" he cried. Frantically, he checked her vital signs. He became worried after a moment. Physically, she was fine; there was no reason for her to faint like that. Frowning, he closed his eyes to check for less obvious signs, opening his senses. Almost immediately, his eyes snapped open again.

"Shit! She's gone and drained herself!"

=^-,-^= End Chapter Six =^-,-^=

Okay, yes, I'm evil. But it's longer than most chapters, and I'm physically exhausted right now, so you'll have to forgive me. Plus, it yields good reviews.

Teo: Yes, Shippo is the same age as he is in canon. Technically, he doesn't need to go to school, but he has for the past few years, because it's easier to keep track of Kagome that way. Plus, he knows you never stop learning.

Tenshineko: Sorry, the jewel won't be extracted any time soon, but we did take care of Yura in short order.

I think that's everything, so I'll see you next time. I'll try not to take longer than a week.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-Yasha, I would probably have done a much worse job with him and the rest of the crew than Takahashi-san has done. For this, I thank her. But I don't own it, and that means that it is the wonderful story we all (supposedly) know and love. Thanks for listening!

Edit (1-1-04): Changed a few typos.  I have plans for Eimi later on, but I don't know how exactly I will fit them in.  Yes, I know she was just in the last chapter, but I forgot to add this note there, so I'm putting it here.

Inu-chan's characterization always comes out better when there's a battle… I wonder why that is…

-socchan


	7. Recovery

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Seven: Recovery

Inu-Yasha stood anxiously outside the door to Kagome's mother's room. He had been waiting there the last couple of hours, not knowing the time Mrs. Higurashi normally started her day, and reluctant to wake her up. Kagome he had left in her bed when he had done all he could for her. Hovering over her and waiting for her situation to improve wouldn't do her much good, and it might well drive him to the brink of insanity. It was in times like these that one turned to a mother, because like it or not, in most cases, Mother Knows Best. Even if she couldn't do much to help Kagome directly, there were other things she could do to support her daughter. So, with this in mind, Inu-Yasha waited.

A rather sleep-muffled and tired Mrs. Higurashi opened the door at last to find Inu-Yasha waiting patiently for her. She stopped mid-yawn, and waited expectantly. Inu-Yasha wasted no time getting to the root of the problem.

"We had a little incident last night, and Kagome used up all her power. She's unconscious right now, and will probably remain that way for a while. It would be best to pull her out of school today so she can recover. And unless the old man knows how to treat a miko for magic drainage, I'll probably have to stay home, too."

Kagome's mother blinked, digesting the information. "Very well," she said, "I'll call the school to tell them you're not coming. I doubt Grandfather knows anything helpful, and even if he did, I wouldn't trust him not to mix and match inappropriate cures." She smiled at him, and Inu-Yasha breathed a sigh of relief. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Inu-Yasha nodded. "Cinnamon. You're not going to believe it, but she needs cinnamon. Lots of it, too. I'll write up a short list of some other stuff I'll need, but cinnamon's a good start."

Kagome's mother pondered. "We have some cinnamon sticks in the pantry. Shall I bring them up?"

Inu-Yasha nodded, gratefully. "Thank you, Mrs. Higurashi."

She smiled warmly. "It's no problem. I trust her in your care. Just one thing."

"Name it." Inu-Yasha said, and meant it.

"Call me 'Mom'? It'll be like having another child in the house."

The look on Inu-Yasha's face was hard to place, but if Mrs. Higurashi had to call it something, it might've been hope. He smiled, tentatively. "Sure thing, Mom." His eyes were alight with something that could have been tears. "I'll be up in Kagome's room."

Mrs. Higurashi nodded, her eyes glittering suspiciously. "Of course. I'll bring the cinnamon right up."

"Thanks, Mom."

Kagome's mother knocked lightly on her daughter's door. A muffled "Come in!" sounded from inside, and she opened the door, shutting it softly behind her. Inu-Yasha was seated in a chair by Kagome's bed, dressed hurriedly in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He had a book open in his lap. He looked up and smiled when Mrs. Higurashi entered the room.

"I brought the cinnamon up," Mrs. Higurashi said, holding out the jar. Inu-Yasha thanked her and took it. He marked his book and unscrewed the lid, sniffing lightly over the top. He smiled in satisfaction when he was sure the contents were fresh. He took out a stick gently, and tapped a little of the spice loose from the end of it into Kagome's partially open mouth. "How is she?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, unable to keep the question in any longer.

"She's doing okay," Inu-Yasha said after a pause. "She hasn't woken up yet, and probably won't for a while now, but she's doing better than I suspected. She's getting her powers back faster than anyone I've ever seen. She should be fine by this afternoon. That's sooner than the powerful and highly trained priests and priestesses I've seen in this situation."

"You have the list ready?"

Inu-Yasha nodded, and dug a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. He smoothed it out the best he could, and handed it to Mrs. Higurashi. "I don't know how hard it is to find some of these right now, but they'll help Kagome recover her strength faster. Without them, it could take up to a week for her to be up to one hundred percent again."

Mrs. Higurashi took the list and scanned the old, precise handwriting. "Right. I'll bring up some breakfast for you before I go. You want coffee?"

He smiled, briefly. "Yes, please."

"Alright then. I'll see you in a bit." Mrs. Higurashi left, and closed the door behind her.

For a long time, Inu-Yasha just sat there, staring at Kagome. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically with her breathing, and her dark hair haloed out around her head on the pillow. Softly, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't leave me, Kagome." He whispered. "Not yet. Not before we have a chance to get that jewel out. You're stubborn; you've proved it to me already. Don't give up on me." He withdrew his hand.

His forehead wrinkled in a slight frown. "She looks so much like Kikyo, it's almost scary. But they act almost nothing alike. Well, when you get to the basics, they're sort-of similar, but Kikyo was more withdrawn, more sorrowful. Kagome is more carefree and happy. It's almost as if they're two different versions of the same person." He sighed, and brought a hand up to rub his temples gently. "Kikyo is dead. I'll never have to face her again. Kagome on the other hand, is alive, and for now, I plan to keep it that way. No matter what it takes." The distinction made, Inu-Yasha leaned back in his chair and opened the book again. There was a lot of waiting to be done.

A few miles outside city limits, Naraku had again found something he'd been looking for. This one had been a bit easier to find, but harder to get to. After all, while locations of near-death experiences are generally easy to remember, they tend to be harder to face.

Picking his way carefully over the grounds, he at last found the grave he was looking for. In it was buried the woman who had 'killed' him.

She'd been a lively little thing with long dark hair and eyes. She wielded the boomerang like nobody's business, and was a fair hand with a sword, too. Still, in the end, she had died, and not of natural causes, either.

They had really taken one another out, and Naraku had found pleasant irony in how similar these events were to something that he had enacted some fifty years prior. After the exterminator had blown him to pieces, he had watched events unfold with a curious eye. First, the exterminator had died from the poison he had inflicted on her system. Her little brother, seeing she was dead, had gone on a rampage, destroying more demons than Naraku would have thought possible with his war-sickle. When the battle had drawn to a close, he cried bitter tears at the loss of his sister, and buried his war-sickle with her in place of the boomerang. His days of using the war-sickle were over, and by learning to use his sister's weapon, he reasoned, perhaps a part of her would live on with the survivors, lending them strength. With heavy hearts, the remaining taiji-ya left to form a new home. Months after this, Naraku at last pulled his pieces together, and, cursing the grounds and all taiji-ya, he left.

Now he had returned at last, but not to reminisce. Instead, he came to gather strength. Focusing his power, he held out a hand, and twisted it. The earth that had once been a living person lifted from the ground, bones inter-mingling with it. He directed it to a wooden chest at his side. Following the earth was a war-sickle, battered and worn by time. It flew to rest in his outstretched hand. Smiling slightly, Naraku summoned his wasps to carry him and the chest away.

Kagome was very disoriented when she awoke. She couldn't recall the last thing that had happened to her, and she felt downright _strange_. When she lifted a hand to wipe the sleep away, she got something on her eyes; there was an oil of some sort on her palms. Confused, she sat up. Someone pressed a cup into her hands. "Drink." A familiar voice commanded. "It'll make you feel better." Frowning, Kagome did as she was told. Sweet cinnamon tea flowed past her lips. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision.

"What time is it?" she croaked.

"A little after two in the afternoon." Kagome turned her head in the direction of the speaker, and Inu-Yasha came into focus.

"Two o'clock?!" Kagome yelped, sitting bolt upright. "I missed school!"

Inu-Yasha clapped his hands over his ears. "Ow! Bitch. Keep it down, would ya? You could break something with that voice."

Kagome scowled. "That's beside the point. The point is—"

"The point is," Inu-Yasha interrupted, "that last night you totally drained yourself, and even if you could have gotten up to go to school, which wasn't possible by the way, you would have been falling asleep in class the entire time. It defeats the purpose of going in the first place!"

"No, I wouldn't have!" Kagome argued. "I could've stayed awake!"

Inu-Yasha opened his mouth to argue some more, then closed it and scowled at her. "Fine. You think you know more about magic than I do? Then you can just take care of yourself next time." He picked up his book, stood, and stormed out of the room.

Something had fallen from his lap when he got up. At first Kagome only glared at it in defiance, but curiosity eventually got the best of her. She leaned down and picked it up.

It was a thick ring of inter-woven wire. Glass beads were attached around the outside rim, each with a different symbol carved into it by what she assumed was one of Inu-Yasha's claws. A loop at the top connected it to a string made of some type of red fabric. Frowning, Kagome recognized it as being similar to the cloth he'd been wearing when they'd first met. Distantly, she felt a strange energy radiating from it. When she tried to read what the energy was designed to do, she found that not only could she not make it out, it gave her a fierce headache.

Absently, Kagome reached out to take a drink from the cup she'd been given earlier. To her surprise, as soon as the liquid entered her system, she felt stronger. Kagome blinked, and took another sip. This time, she could feel her power flair as the liquid flowed down her throat. Cautiously, she tried again to read the energy pattern from the ring. She still couldn't quite make it out, but it was getting clearer, and it no longer gave her a headache.

A wave of guilt washed over Kagome. Inu-Yasha had been right about the tea; he'd probably been right about everything else, too. He'd been trying to help her, and she'd thrown it back in his face. Straightening, Kagome resigned herself to apologizing. She got to her feet—

--and promptly fell right back on the bed. "Maybe I'd better drink some more tea before I confront him." Kagome muttered. After all, it wouldn't do if she passed out while trying to apologize.

Fifteen minutes, twelve cups of cinnamon tea, and a trip to the bathroom later, Kagome went searching for Inu-Yasha. She found the dog-boy outside, lounging—or sulking, she couldn't tell which—in the higher branches of one of the trees. She stood under the tree a moment, debating action.

Inu-Yasha beat her to it. "What do _you_ want?"

_Definitely sulking_, Kagome decided. "I came to say I'm sorry." She called up to him.

"Oh, really?" Sarcasm dripped from his words. "How amusing."

Kagome was starting to feel slightly miffed, and being in the position of one trying to repent for past deeds didn't help much. "Look," she said, irritably, "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. You were right. I wouldn't have been able to get anything done in school even if I had been able to make it there in one piece. I was wrong. I guess I'm just not used to not knowing what's going on or what to do. I'm not the expert; you are." She had gotten quieter as she made this speech. The next thing she said was so quiet, Inu-Yasha almost had to strain his ears to pick it up. "And… I also wanted to say thank you… for taking care of me."

He waited a few minutes for her to say something else, but she remained silent. "Is that all?"

"Well, no." she admitted. "You dropped something when you left, and I wanted to return it to you." She dug the ring from her pocket, and held it up to him.

He glanced down at her, trying to seem nonchalant. "Oh, that." Inu-Yasha shrugged. "You can keep it."

"Huh? But, I thought you'd want it back." Kagome looked rapidly between the necklace and the hanyou. It was lovely, certainly, but she was sure he'd need it for something.

"Nah." He dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. "I don't want it. I made it for you anyway."

"Oh." Kagome was silent for a moment. Then, "What's it for?"

Inu-Yahsa sighed and dropped deftly from the branches. "It's a protective amulet." He explained. "The symbols on the beads are to keep you from completely draining your magic again. The amulet will also store excess magic for you, so you'll recover faster."

"Ah." Kagome smiled shyly at him, and slipped the necklace on. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "It's nothing, really. Now, we need to get some more cinnamon in you." Kagome moaned.

=^-,-^= End Chapter Seven =^-,-^=

This one was kinda a filler chapter. I also worked with trying to make Inu more of a jerk, but I guess I'm not very good at it ^^; Probably comes from that nasty habit I have of always trying to see the good in people. Really need to work on that. Anyhow, sometime I'm going to go through and re-do this so I can really bring out his jerky-ness, so if you have any other suggestions while I'm at it, I'd love to hear them. So far my best characterization of Inu has been during fighting scenes ^^; I wonder why…

Teo: Hang on a sec... * thinks a moment * You're right; I am being confusing. My bad, Shippo is _not_ the same age as he was in canon; he was born at the same time, tho. That would mean he's grown up since the feudal era. I did mention that Kagome could 'sit' Inu with the necklace; it's in the beginning of the third chapter.

Tenshineko: Ah! I absolutely adored that last review. I went back and read it three times. Can I alter it and use it as my summary ^_^? Pretty please with a dedication on top?

ArtemisMoon: I'm honored to get reviewed by you, and sad if you've stopped reading. I guess I'm just not creative enough to keep Inu in character on the first try. Or second, now that I think of it. Ah, well, third time's the charm (I hope). I think I will use that idea you suggested. Don't worry—you'll get credit. Hope you aren't too put off by this to give it another try when I've re-vamped it a bit.

I think that's everything. Oh, and the next arch will feature Sesshy, Rin, and the Tetsusaiga. Plus that annoying kid who sits next to Inu-Yasha in class. How do they all fit in? I guess you'll have to read and find out ^_~.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-Yasha, I would probably have done a much worse job with him and the rest of the crew than Takahashi-san has done. For this, I thank her. But I don't own it, and that means that it is the wonderful story we all (supposedly) know and love. Thanks for listening!

Edit (1-1-04): Changed number of cups of tea Kagome drank.  I was picturing a rather small cup (like the kind in Chinese restaurants) but realized, with Teo's help, that even then seventeen was a rather large number of cups to have drunk in such a short amount of time.

-socchan


	8. Contact

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Eight: Contact

Inu-Yasha was busily scribbling notes at his desk when the office aide entered the room. He paid the interruption little heed; he was sure it was nothing. He was very surprised then when the aide was directed down the isle to drop the note on his desk. Inu-Yasha blinked at the note a moment, then looked up at the aide; he was already leaving the room to make another delivery. He looked down at the note again, then tentatively rose to his feet. The teacher noticed his movement. "Do you need something, Inu-Yasha?" she asked.

"I could use some help finding the counselor's office." He replied, truthfully.

She nodded, and surveyed the room. "Nathan, could you help Inu-Yasha out?" she inquired.

The boy who sat in the desk next to Inu-Yasha nodded and rose. He strode purposefully to the front of the room. His serious eyes met Inu-Yasha's briefly, and he nodded ever so slightly, then lead the way out the door. He walked down the twisting hallways and up one flight of stairs, Inu-Yasha tailing him. He stopped at last outside a door, and turned to face Inu-Yasha for the first time since they'd started the journey. "Can you find your way back on your own?"

Inu-Yasha nodded. "Yeah; I'll be fine."

Nathan nodded in return. "All right. I'll head back then. The counselor is right through there. Don't worry; she's good at what she does."

Inu-Yasha smiled wryly. "Right. Thanks."

"No problem." Nathan turned and began to walk away, tossing a wave over his shoulder. "Later."

Inu-Yasha turned as well, facing the wooden door before him. _'Mrs. Westlord' _read the bronze nameplate. He sighed, resigned, and pushed open the door.

A woman who looked no older than twenty-three sat at a desk in front of a beige box, a faint glow emitting from the side facing her. She looked up and smiled when Inu-Yasha entered. "Good afternoon," she said brightly. "I'll be done in just a moment, so if you'll take a seat, I'll be right with you." Self-consciously, Inu-Yasha sat down in the plush chair in front of her desk (the only available seat in the room). True to her word, the woman was soon done, and had turned to face him again, smiling pleasantly.

There was something not quite right about this woman, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Something about her scent…

"It's nice to finally meet you, Inu-Yasha." Mrs. Westlord said.

There was a trace of youkai blood in her, and more than a hint of magic, but that wasn't quite it. It was something else, something almost… familiar…

"I've heard so much about you. It's a relief to know you're actually real." She continued, with humor.

He almost had it. It was on the tip of his tongue, just out of reach, like a butterfly hovering a few feet above his head.

"After all, you're almost all your brother talks about."

The answer slapped him full in the face, realization slamming into him full force.

Sessho-maru.

This all-too-human woman had his brother's blood running through her veins.

Had Inu-Yasha not been so shocked, the long string of less-than-pleasant language might have completed its journey from his mind to his mouth. As it was, he just sat there, staring blankly at Mrs. Westlord, jaw slack. Finally, he regained control of his facial muscles. "How do you know my brother?"

"Oh! How terribly rude of me." The woman exclaimed. "Of course you wouldn't know, you've been pinned to a tree until recently. My, this is embarrassing. Well." She cleared her throat, blushing slightly. "Allow me to introduce myself. Inu-Yasha, my name is Rin Westlord; I'm your sister-in-law."

This time the profanity made it to his mouth and brought friends. "Dammit! Not only is that sonovabitch still alive, but he's procreating, too?! Shit, now his kids are going to be out for my blood! No offence, ma'am." He ammended, quickly.

"None taken." She replied. "And please, call me Rin. In any case, that's not the reason I contacted you."

Inu-Yasha moaned and sat back in the plush chair, raising a hand to rub his temples. "What else?"

"Sessho-maru runs a large corporation which is mostly a front for helping youkai that are only now coming out of hiding create identities for themselves and get on their feet. He's been keeping track of you for the last couple of centuries, and is interested in meeting you to make amends for the past." Rin explained.

Inu-Yasha regarded her from under his arm. "You're kidding."

Rin shook her head. "Nope. There's good money in youkai services, and not just for the new ones. To appear human, youkai have to 'die' every now and then, and reappear elsewhere to continue to survive. Sessh has made quite a living off of it."

"Not that," Inu-Yasha said, mildly annoyed. "I mean, he actually wants to uh, reconcile and… whatever?"

"Oh! Yes." Rin smiled brightly. "He also has something to give you. And I thought you might be interested in meeting the rest of the family."

"The rest of…?" Inu-Yasha sat there, relatively stunned. Sure, it was logical that his brother would want to continue the family line, so to speak, but he'd never actually put any serious thought into the idea. Now that he did, it was more than a little scary. He pictured a hoard of little Rins and Sessho-marus clawing all over him, tugging at his ears and doing other various things to make his life miserable. He shuddered, mentally. "Just how many are there?"

Rin pondered this a moment. "Oh, four generations or so, counting us. Five now that Mae's had her baby. Darling little thing, too. Of course, you've already met one of them."

"I've met…?" Inu-Yasha blinked. "When was this?"

"Nathan Lamar? He's in your class, isn't he? I believe he's your great grand nephew. His paternal grandfather was one of our early customers. He fell in love with Tomoko, our youngest. They planned to start a business overseas, which is why they wanted a foreign name. His son eventually moved to the home islands and got a job with us. He tied the proverbial knot with one of our employees. Nathan is their third child*." Rin sighed, dreamily. "Ah, love. Our company really does make dreams come true…"

Inu-Yasha stared at the woman in front of him with a sick sort of awe. In the back of his mind, he made a note to learn more about culture. Then something caught up with him. "Wait a second… I'm in the same class as my great grand nephew?! That's messed up!"

Rin tapped her chin, and turned the idea over in her head. "Well, when you think about it, I suppose it might be…"

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "Never mind. Just forget about it. If thinking about it is what makes it weird, then I just won't do it. Now, you said Sessho-maru wants to meet and sort things out?"

Rin nodded, her smile returning. "Oh, yes. Tell me, are you free on Sunday? Sessho-Maru was planning to send a ride over sometime in the afternoon to pick you up and drive you over to meet everyone. Is that okay with you?"

Inu-Yasha nodded, absently, only half certain what a 'car' even was. "Can I bring someone with me?" he asked.

Rin blinked once in surprise, then nodded cheerfully. "Of course! It's good to know you're making friends in this strange time period and everything."

"Right. Is that everything?"

Rin nodded. "Yup! You can go back to class, now."

Inu-Yasha rose and walked towards the door. Before he left, he stopped and smiled slightly. "Thanks, Rin."

Rin's smile increased twenty watts. "No problem. See you Sunday, Inu-Yasha." He nodded, and closed the door behind him.

Kagome was discretely watching the classroom door. She was now _very_ curious about what was going on—Inu-Yasha had been away almost half an hour. Suddenly, the hanyou in question walked into the room. He looked to be brooding. He met Kagome's eyes briefly as he walked passed her desk. He paused a moment, and the corner of his mouth turned up just enough to almost be called a smile. Relieved of most of her tension, Kagome returned the near-invisible smile. Inu-Yasha held it a second longer, then dropped the smile and moved on to his desk. Most of Kagome's relief flew out the window and was replaced once again by apprehension. She watched him sit down from the corner of her eye, the hanyou trading nods of greeting with the boy next to him, and resolved to find out what had transpired while he was away.

The second the bell rang and Kagome was on her feet. She loomed over Inu-Yasha's desk menacingly as other students filed out of the classroom. Inu-Yasha looked up at Kagome and sighed. "What is it?"

"When you came back from the counselor's office you looked like someone had just handed you a death sentence, and I want to know why." Kagome answered bluntly.

He looked her over carefully. "Promise not to tell?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Knowing you, there aren't exactly a lot of people I could tell whatever it is that would believe me, but if you want reassurance, then yes, I promise."

Inu-Yasha glanced around the room. A pair of students was lingering, waiting for the two of them to leave so they could get cleaning. He looked back at Kagome, who was waiting expectantly. He rose to his feet, picking up his backpack. "Let's start heading home, then. I don't want to say it where anyone else can hear." Confused, Kagome nodded, and lead the way out of the classroom.

The halls were nearly empty when they walked through them. They passed a few doors before Kagome felt it was safe to ask again. "All right, we're out of hearing range. What is it you're so eager to hide from the rest of the world?"

Inu-Yasha shot a pained look around them before giving in. "You know that kid that sits next to me?"

"Yes…" Kagome replied, not sure where this was going.

Inu-Yasha raked a hand through his currently dark hair. "He's kinda my great grand nephew."

Kagome stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. No way… "Your family's still alive?"

He snorted. "Keh, if you can call it that. The only one _I_ ever knew was too stubborn to go down without showing me up. Turns out he got married while I was 'asleep', and now the school counselor is my sister-in-law. Not only that, but he's been reproducing! That's _exactly_ the kind of thing I always knew would happen."

"You knew you were going to be put into suspended animation for four hundred plus years while your brother got married and had kids?" Kagome asked skeptically.

Inu-Yasha hesitated. "Well, no, but the universe is out to get me anyway, so why not? Besides, he's only my half-brother."

Kagome shook her head. "Maybe I'm just dense, but I still don't see what the big deal is."

He winced. "That's not all of it. He's invited me to his company this Sunday to 'meet the family' and 'make amends'. He also supposedly has something to give me."

"So… you don't want to go."

"It's not that… even if I didn't, I still promised Rin, and I don't go back on my promises. It's just that I don't entirely trust my brother, and would like to have someone along I could count on in a tight spot."

Kagome tilted her head, not entirely sure what he was saying. "Inu-Yasha?"

"Would you mind, entirely, coming along to watch my back?"

Kagome smiled. "Of course I'll come. I'd love to meet your family." She pushed open the door, and Inu-Yasha was temporarily blinded by the sunlight. "C'mon, let's go home."

The next day passed uneventfully, and without warning, Inu-Yasha found it was suddenly Sunday afternoon. He stood nervously on the shrine's steps next to Kagome, waiting anxiously for the car his brother was to send (Kagome had confirmed that cars were indeed the unliving metal animals that roamed the streets, driven on by their masters). A long black vehicle pulled up, and Rin stepped out of a door near the end. "Hello!" She said, traditional bright smile in place. Kagome smiled as well and returned the greeting, while Inu-Yasha bowed stiffly. Rin looked Kagome up and down. "I don't believe we've met."

Inu-Yasha stepped forward. "Rin, this is Kagome Higurashi, my… foster sister, I guess. She pulled the arrow out of me. Kagome, this is Rin Westlord, my sister-in-law."

"Pleased to meet you." Kagome said, holding out a hand.

"Likewise." Rin returned, shaking it. Their hands parted, and Rin turned to Inu-Yasha. "Shall we get going?"

The limo ride passed quickly, and was fairly uneventful. Rin said little, and what she did say in regards to the meeting tended to be cryptic, particularly where it concerned Sessho-maru's 'gift'. The fact that Inu-Yasha hadn't traveled in very many motorized vehicles did not help any, so he was more than a little eager to get out by the time the limo stopped.

Westlord Enterprises was a large building, even for Tokyo. It reached into the sky, its mirrored windows staring down on them like a great, many-faceted eye. Inu-Yasha's hackles rose. Rin smiled a very Cheshire smile. "Come on, then." She said, leading the way through the revolving doors.

Kagome and Inu-Yasha followed the woman onto a spacious elevator. Pleasant music flowed from speakers in the ceiling, and the walls were a comfortable shade of gold-trimmed-beige. Rin stepped forward and pushed the button for the top floor, then leaned back on the back wall's railing. The music was offset by a tense silence as the elevator climbed floors.

At last the doors opened, and Rin exited, miko and hanyou trailing close behind. She led the way through a corridor of nearly identical doors, and stopped at the one at the end of the hall. She glanced over her shoulder and, grinning smugly, winked. Then, she threw the door open.

The room was filled with persons of mixed blood. The prominent feature was dog, but there were a scattering of other animals and a few element- or item-based youkai as well, and a handful of humans. All the disguises those of mixed blood usually wore had been cast off. Seeing this, Kagome leaned over and removed Inu-Yasha's necklace. He barely noticed as his features returned to normal. His attention was focused on one individual who was sitting behind a desk. Kagome followed his gaze.

The figure at the desk had long, flowing white hair. What looked suspiciously like a feather boa was draped around the figure's shoulders. Parallel red lines marked his cheeks near feminine features. A blue crescent moon stood out on the figure's forehead, and long nails tapped the desk's surface gently. An eyebrow was raised, as if in speculation.

Inu-Yasha took a step forward, not taking his eyes away. He seemed almost to be in a trance as he stared at the figure in front of him. "Sessho-maru." He said in recognition.

The figure nodded, eyebrow still raised. "Inu-Yasha." There was a moment of tense silence as the two assessed one another.

Kagome could hold the accusation in no longer, and it tore itself from her lips. "Inu-Yasha, I thought you said Sessho-maru was your _brother_."

=^-,-^= End Chapter Eight =^-,-^=

*I wrote the entire family tree out during math class one day. I don't have names or blood ratios yet, but I have the basics down. I do strange things when I'm bored.

Okay, Sesshy isn't _really_ a girl in this. I just made that same mistake when I was first reading the graphic novels, and thought others could probably sympathize. Thought I'd make that clear.

I am tired right now. I spent the past two hours working on this story alone so I could get it out today. I ran out of reserve chapters last update, so I had to start from scratch on this one. I'd go through my whole weekend schedule to explain why I'm not going to go into much detail or answer reviews right now, but I assume it would bore you. Getting to the bare bones of it, most of my time was spent either swinging around a three-foot razorblade or counter-protesting against the Westboro Baptist Church. Anyhow, I promised myself that no matter what, I would get a chapter out in every two weeks, max.

More later. Tell me if there are too many mistakes and I'll get to them as soon as I can.

Me no own.

I'm going to sleep now. Bye-bye.

-socchan

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

Edit (1-1-04): I remember that day! That was a fun day…  Anyway, I just recognized a potential plot hole here, so I'm going to try and nail a plank of wood over it and call it fixed.

Plot Hole: How could Inu-Yasha recognize the scent of his brother's blood in Rin but not in Nathan?  My excuse: Rin's blood is otherwise human, so she doesn't have much to cover it up, while Nathan's is more mixed from various ancestors.  Plus, Inu-chan didn't even realize it was his brother he smelled until Rin brought Sesshy up.  Hopefully now no one will trip.


	9. Prodigal Brother

This arc of the story is (belatedly) dedicated to Teo for helping me figure out exactly how I was going to get Rin and Sesshy introduced, and how I was going to get the Tetsusaiga into Sesshy's hands. Thank you, Teo ^_^, and I'm sorry I'm always late returning e-mails. For those of you unfamiliar with Teo's works, go out and read them when you're done here. Or now, for that matter. This'll still be here when you're done. They're really good, too. Just thought I'd mention it. And now, on with the fic!

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Nine: Prodigal Brother

"Inu-Yasha, I thought you said Sessho-maru was your _brother_!" Kagome slapped a hand over her mouth as all heads in the room turned to stare at her. Inu-Yasha's face in particular stood out, and she blushed slightly at his look of shock. She became steadily redder as his expression began to shift from surprise to amusement. Kagome didn't think she could get any redder until the hanyou began to laugh. It started out as a low chuckle, then built to a thunderous roar. The laughter was infectious, and she heard several snickers from Inu-Yasha's relatives. Sessho-maru had the grace to smile as well, though a delicately clawed hand soon hid it. Kagome found herself grinning sheepishly amidst it all.

Inu-Yasha at last calmed down. "You should've seen the look on your face, Sessh! It was…. What was the term you used again, Kagome?"

"Priceless." Kagome supplied, still a little red.

"Yeah, that's it. That look was priceless. Anyhow," Inu-Yasha pulled Kagome up next to him, and clapped her lightly on the shoulder. "Sessho-maru, I'd like you to meet Kagome. Kagome, this is indeed my half-brother Sessho-maru. Since he didn't slice you in half for that remark about his looks, I think it's fairly safe to assume that this is not some sort of twisted trap based on centuries of pent-up hatred from sibling rivalries." He met Sessho-maru's eyes, amusedly. "No offense; we just didn't have the most friendly relationship before, and one can't really be too careful."

"Quite right." The look on Sessho-maru's face had reverted to carefully controlled amusement. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kagome."

Kagome bowed, swiftly. "Likewise, and sorry about the mistake. If I may ask, what's that puffy thing around your shoulders?"

Inu-Yasha just barely kept from laughing this time by stuffing his fist in his mouth. Sessho-maru's left eyebrow rose in what Kagome assumed was amusement. "My tail." He replied, evenly. Inu-Yasha was all but convulsing from suppressed laughter.

"I see." Kagome smiled. "Thank you for telling me. See, I'm sort-of new to the whole 'demon' concept, so I need to be told some of these things."

The corner of Sessho-maru's mouth turned up. "You're quite welcome. Now, if I may be so bold as to inquire, what are you doing with the Shikon no Tama? I thought it was no longer of this plane."

"Ah, see, that's a funny story, really. I honestly don't know what I'm doing with it. We're pretty sure it's somewhere _in_ my body, but we have no idea how it got there or how to get it out. We've already run into a bit of trouble because of it." Apprehension crept onto Kagome's features. "You aren't after it too, are you?"

Sessho-maru shook his head. "No, you needn't worry about that. I think I can safely say I have everything I could ever want already." He met Rin's eyes across the room, and Rin smiled sweetly in return. Kagome grinned wryly at this display of affection. "In any case," Sessho-maru continued, his gaze returning to Kagome's, "I believe this only makes my gift all the more appropriate."

Inu-Yasha had regained control of himself, and his ears perked up at Sessho-maru's last statement. "Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to as you about that…" Inu-Yasha trailed off and frowned. He brought up a hand, and smacked himself on his neck, hard. Pinching something between his thumb and forefinger, he brought it to his face to examine it. Kagome looked over his shoulder at the tiny man caught in his claws. He had four arms and a tiny proboscis. He was dressed in a suit that was probably custom made, and clutched a tiny pipe in one hand. Inu-Yasha scowled at him.

Kagome blinked and peered at the man. "Who's that?"

The man glared at his captor. "What did you go and do that for?!"

"You bit me!" Inu-Yasha accused.

"Oh come, can't you spare at least a little blood for a starving flea demon?" the man pleaded.

Inu-Yasha poked him with a claw. "You don't look like you're starving."

The man closed his eyes sagely, and fiddled with his mustache. "You should know very well, boy, that looks can be deceiving."

Inu-Yasha glared at the tiny youkai. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't squish you right now."

"Inu-Yasha," Sessho-maru said, rising from his chair. "I wouldn't harm Myoga if I were you."

Inu-Yasha shot an accusing glare at his brother. "And why not?"

"He guards our father's grave."

Inu-Yasha fell silent. Kagome watched him carefully. She hadn't known Inu-Yasha's father was dead. Had it happened before or after the hanyou was pinned to the tree? Kagome decided not to ask. Inu-Yasha would tell her if he wanted to, and if he didn't then it probably wasn't really any of her business in the first place.

"All right." Inu-Yasha said at last. "I won't squish the bug." Myoga breathed a sigh of relief. "For now," Inu-Yasha added with a scowl.

"Come," Sessho-maru said, walking to a set of double-doors on one side of the room. "There is a reason I allowed the flea to be here." Setting the flea demon on his shoulder, Inu-Yasha strode to where his half-brother stood. Sessho-maru opened a door to a dark room. Inu-Yasha cast one last glance at Kagome, then turned and followed the older demon through the door. It clicked shut behind him.

Kagome stared at the door Inu-Yasha had just gone through, concern etched plainly on her face. "Worried?" someone asked. Kagome turned to see Rin standing next to her.

Kagome bit her lip. "Kind-of." She admitted. Then, "Yes."

Rin smiled kindly. "You care about him a lot."

Kagome froze, and studied the older woman carefully. "How-?"

"When you've been around as long as I have," Rin cut in, "you develop a talent for noticing these sorts of things. Tell me, do you love him?"

Kagome was silent for a moment. "Maybe," she answered, quietly. "I know I like him, and I'm definitely attracted to him, but I don't know that it's love yet. In a little more time… probably."

Rin nodded. "I see. I wish you all the best where he is concerned. In the mean time…" She turned to look at the door as well. "We may have to wait and see what happens."

There is a blinding flash—and then nothing.

All is darkness; all is emptiness.

Then, there is something. A giant skull rises from the shadows, glowing with an ancient—and somehow familiar—aura. It is doglike in appearance, half-sunk into a chunk of land it seems to have taken with it. Exotic trees and plants cling to the land, leeching onto the skull in places as if to drain it of some missing mineral. A figure appears—Sessho-maru. He walks towards the skull, and Inu-Yasha follows.

"That was your father's skull." A voice by his ear—Myoga—tells him. Inu-Yasha is silent. Reverent, perhaps? Perhaps.

Now they climb an earthen stair, and walk through a gap where a tooth once was in the skull's yawning mouth. It is cavernous inside, and each slight movement echoes, increasing in volume, assaulting sensitive ears.

There—in the shadows—do you see it? A scratched and dented old sword sticks up from a rock like a thorn from a rose. The handle is worn and frayed. Close up, it smells ever so faintly of blood, of a thousand battles and a thousand lives that could not be washed away. It has a legacy to which another might add should he or she be worthy of it. It carries a powerful name to live up to.

"This," Sessho-maru's voice reverberates in the skull, "is Tetsusaiga."

Kagome fidgeted next to Rin. "This is taking too long." She announced.

Rin frowned. "It hasn't even been ten minutes yet!"

"I know; it's been exactly seven minutes and twenty-three seconds. I counted them." Kagome replied.

"How is that too long, might I ask?"

Kagome scowled. "It just is!" She checked her watch. "Seven minutes, fifty-four seconds."

"That's Tetsusaiga?" Inu-Yasha demanded, incredulously. "The sword that Father had forged from one of his fangs? The one he used to slay a hundred demons with one swing? That rusted-over God-forsaken piece of scrap metal _crap_? _That_'s Tetsusaiga?!

Sessho-maru's cheeks twinged pink. "Yes, well, I admit that it doesn't look like much, but that _is_ the sword."

Inu-Yasha scowled. "Jeez, what was Dad thinking?"

Myoga puffed up indignantly. "I'll have you know that—"

"Bug off." Inu-Yasha interrupted, squishing the flea with his thumb. He looked at Sessho-maru. "You want this thing?"

"Yes," Sessho-maru replied, "but it's not mine. It's yours. More than that, it was remade for you. If I took it, I would never be able to unleash its full potential. I can't even draw it, where as I believe _you_ will be able. Besides," Sessho-maru's smile was slightly crooked, "I have my own sword to use."

"Alright, alright, I'll give the damn thing a try. Yeesh!" Muttering darkly, Inu-Yasha stepped forward and gripped the handle.

Something pricked at his senses, and he stopped. Frowning, he turned around to face a figure clothed in shadow. His keen eyes picked out features in the dark, and they widened in shock. "Mother?!"

Outside, Kagome shifted uncomfortably. She was anxious about how long Inu-Yasha had been gone (thirteen minutes, forty-two seconds and counting), but there was something else, too. Something wasn't quite right. Trying to calm down, Kagome took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She extended her senses into the next room to make sure everything was okay.

At once Kagome's eyes snapped open, and she breathed in sharply. She expelled the breath in a stream of mild curses, and brought a hand to her temple to wipe away the thin sheen of sweat that had gathered there. Trying to be sure, she extended her senses one more time. Yes, there it was, lurking like a virus that had accidentally discovered new prey. Kagome took another deep breath to steady herself, then straightened her shoulders and turned to the doors.

"Kagome?" Rin asked, anxiously. "Are you okay?"

Kagome's face was set in a look of determination. "I'm fine." She started walking forward.

"What are you doing, then?"

"I'm going to help Inu-Yasha."

Rin grabbed Kagome's forearm and spun her partway around. "Kagome, what-?"

Kagome glared. "Look, Inu-Yasha's in danger, and if I don't go help him _now_, the results might not be pleasant."

Rin frowned. "I don't understand—how do you know he's in danger?"

"I'm a _miko_ for Chrissake!" Kagome snapped. "Trust me, I _know_. Now will you let me go, or do I have to do something I may regret later?"

Rin dropped her arm like a hot coal. "Right." She said, quietly. "Go do what you have to." Kagome turned back to the door. "Be careful, Kagome." Rin told her.

Kagome turned her head, quirked a smile and nodded, once. Then, she opened a door and stepped into the room.

There was a flash of light and a pulse of magic, and Kagome stepped into what seemed to her to be a different world. Land jutted out from the darkness, revealing a half-buried canine skull. Ignoring the fact that there was nothing to stand on, Kagome walked towards it.

"Mother?" Inu-Yasha asked, incredulous. "Is it really you?"

"Inu-Yasha!" the woman proclaimed, joyfully. "My one, my only beloved son!"

"Mother…" Inu-Yasha took a step forward, arms limp at his sides. He stumbled towards her and embraced the woman. "Why did you leave me? Where did you go?"

Sessho-maru and Myoga stood fascinated as they watched the woman stroke Inu-Yasha's hair comfortingly. "It does not matter, my son. What's important is that I'm here with you now."

Inu-Yasha struggled with conflicting memories, only half of which could be true. "But… I thought you died."

"You only imagined that, my son." The woman said, soothingly. "It was nothing more than a bad dream; a dream that is now over."

Inu-Yasha smiled, and allowed himself to be pulled closer. "Yeah…"

Kagome pulled herself through the gap in the teeth and looked on in horror as Inu-Yasha literally melted into the embrace of a faceless woman. Their bodies pulled together forming a shapeless blob as Sessho-maru and Myoga stood by, mesmerized.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome cried out in a desperate attempt to get him to snap out of it.

Inu-Yasha looked up at the woman's not-face, eyes unfocused. "Did you hear something, Mother?"

"Not at all, my child." The woman replied. The already powerful aura around her flared up stronger.

Suddenly, Kagome was furious. This not-woman was trying to do something to Inu-Yasha, and she didn't like it. Gathering all the power she could, Kagome forced it into one last cry. "Inu-Yasha!"

Inu-Yasha's head snapped up, and he was suddenly alert. His eyes focused on where Kagome teetered unsteadily on her feet. Breaking free of the not-woman's hold, Inu-Yasha rushed to support the girl.

Sessho-maru blinked and stared, the affects of the spell wearing off. Myoga had long since departed in favor of safer conditions. His eyes narrowed as he watched the formless woman try to reassemble herself. "Nothing Woman!" he spat. "Get away from this place!"

The Nothing Woman's form grew, and rage boiled around her. "You dare to take my son from me?! For that, you must pay!"

"I told you to leave!" Sessho-maru shouted. "I will not tell you again!"

The blank face turned to Sessho-maru, and an arm reached out towards him. Energy collected in her outstretched fingers and bolted down to where the dog demon stood, knocking him from his feet. Currents of energy ran up and down his body, locking him in place. He snarled at the Nothing Woman as she set her sights on Inu-Yasha. "My son," she called gently, "Come to me."

Inu-Yasha glared darkly at the Nothing Woman. "You're not my mother. My mother is dead!" He brandished the claws of his free hand, and tore them through the air, crying out as he did so "Claws of Steel!"

The youkai energy hit the Nothing Woman square, and she reeled back for a moment. She shrieked and threw another bolt of energy, effectively knocking both Inu-Yasha and Kagome from their feet.

Kagome hit the ground, panting. Inu-Yasha's attack had failed to harm the Nothing Woman, and she was almost drained from breaking the spell the monster had cast earlier. Kagome glanced around for something to use, and her eyes fell on an old sword. She struggled to her feet and lurched towards it. Kagome grasped the handle and pulled, falling on her butt when it slid out easily. A scabbard materialized around the blade as she watched. "Well, that's one way to do it." She muttered, tiredly. Almost out of energy, she crawled back to where Inu-Yasha was.

Rocking back on her haunches, Kagome shook Inu-Yasha's shoulder, accidentally disintegrating the spell that had him trapped. "Here," she said wearily, pressing Tetsusaiga into his hands. "Use this on her."

Inu-Yasha drew the scratched and worn blade. He glanced between it and Kagome. "May as well give it a try." He said with a shrug. Kagome smiled, exhausted, then toppled over backward, unconscious. "Kagome!" Inu-Yasha yelped. "Dammit, she's over-exerted herself again." He glanced ruefully at the ring at her neck. "Well, at least she shouldn't be out too long this time."

Another bolt of energy flew towards Inu-Yasha, and he instinctively brought the scabbard up to block it. The energy bounced off, harmlessly. Inu-Yasha, on the other hand, was not so harmless any longer. He rose to his feet, bristling with anger. He snarled at the Nothing Woman. "No way am I going to let you hurt Kagome! You're dead, bitch." He leapt forward, clutching the transformed Tetsusaiga so the tip was by his left calf, edge down. He pulled up and cut through the Nothing Woman from hip to shoulder. The pieces fell to the ground, smoldering.

Myoga leapt from wherever he'd been hiding to Inu-Yasha's shoulder, and there bounced around, excitedly. "You did it, Inu-Yasha! You transformed the Steel-Cleaving Fang to its true form! You are truly worthy to wield your father's blade."

Inu-Yasha spared the blade barely a glance before sheathing it and walking over to where Kagome lay. He knelt by her body. Sessho-maru stood next to him, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You acted admirably, brother. You and Kagome both. I am proud to say that the same blood runs through our veins."

Inu-Yasha lifted Kagome in his arms, cradling her against him. He lifted his head only briefly to smile at Sessho-maru, before turning his attention back to the unconscious miko. "Stupid girl," he said, quietly. "Why'd you have to go and save me like that?"

=^-,-^= End Chapter Nine =^-,-^=

Ah, that feels better. Slightly longer chapter than usual, too. Most excellent ^_^.

Anyhow, next chapter we can look forward to New Moon Inu-Yasha (fun!) and another scene with Naraku. I think. See, I haven't exactly written it yet, but it should work out that way. It'll be the last scene where Naraku digs someone up, so it'll have to be timed right, and with who he's planning to dig, it should be perfect timing. (there's your hint, tenshineko! Try and guess what I'm going to do!)

Anyhow, responses for this time and last time.

Tenshineko: You read my mind again. Maybe we can treat it like a game! I type something, you try to guess what happens, then two weeks later you see if you're right. Maybe. 'Fraid I can't guarantee that Naraku doesn't have some sick fetish, but he's mostly evil, so don't worry too much. Tell you what; he doesn't like corpses that _look_ like corpses. Neat idea for Inu to pull rank on Nathan; I may have to try that. You'll get credit, of course. Oh, yeah, and just FYI, the ring is about an inch and a half in diameter, and about a quarter inch thick. The beads are about a quarter inch in diameter, too, so it's a little large to be an engagement ring. Don't worry, though! Cute moments are coming, I promise. I just don't know exactly when.

Teo: Glad you liked Nathan ^_^. He turned out pretty well in my opinion. In the original version of this chapter, I was going to have him and Inu fight it out so Inu could learn to work the sword, but I like this version better. And don't worry, that's all they have up their sleeves. Yes, it is impressive for Kagome to have drunk all that tea in fifteen minutes. No wonder she had to go to the bathroom ^_^. They were pretty small cups, thankfully.

Jacie: Glad you liked the cinnamon bit. It was the only thing I could think of at the time, so don't take my word on its energy-restorative properties, alright?

That bit in the middle in present tense was just because I've been re-reading 'Ranma and Akane: A Love Story' lately, and just felt like doing a little artistic schpeal. For anyone who likes Ranma ½, go read that fic. Even if you don't like the pairing read it. Wonderful stuff. Amazing stuff. Beautiful stuff. Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated in about two years, but I can take it. At least I update faster than that, ne ^_~? And if you still don't want to read it just because it's Ranma and Akane, go read Shadow Lurker's other stuff. Amazing writer, that guy. Likes butterflies.

Oh, yeah, if I ever throw in any confusing sword terminology, I'll try and explain it. I think that's everything.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha and co., and neither do I make any money off of this production. Nathan, however, is mine, so NO TAKEY! Thank you, have a nice day.

Edit (1-1-04): Not much changed since I posted this.  Just a few things that could've sounded better.

-socchan 


	10. New Moon

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Ten: New Moon

Shifting the precious cargo in his arms, Inu-Yasha reached out for the doorknob and turned. He carried Kagome back into the office, startling a wave of gasps and murmurs from the assembled family. Rin rushed up, a worried look on her face. "What happened?"

"She mostly drained herself taking out a monster in there." Inu-Yasha replied, laying the girl down on Sessho-maru's immaculate desk. "The magic trap should be restoring some of her energy as we speak, but even so, I don't know how long she'll be out. The more power you have, generally, the longer it takes to restore. Even with Kagome's advanced restoration rate, it'll take a while with how powerful she is." Straightening her clothes, he pulled the cord the ring hung on out from under them. If he concentrated, he could see power flowing from a white-hot spark in the center, slightly resembling a firefly, to the different energy centers of Kagome's body. He breathed a sigh of relief to see she hadn't found out how to tap into the magic trap yet.

Rin turned to Sessho-maru. "How did a monster manage to penetrate your father's grave?"

Sessho-maru sighed, and closed the door they had used behind them. He opened the other door, revealing a perfectly normal office with a small black pearl in the middle of it. This he scooped up and pocketed. "I made the transport spell a long time ago, as you may recall. Perhaps the barriers weakened a bit since then; Gods know I didn't check on them often enough. I think the Nothing Woman was drawn by our memories at first, and slipped in on one of the occasions I visited, when my memories got stronger. She had also gotten stronger than when we last dealt with her." Sessho-maru closed the second door, and then opened them both, first one at a time, then together. Each time revealed nothing more than an empty room. Satisfied that the spell was effectively broken, Sessho-maru closed the doors again and took his place by the desk next to Rin.

"I'm sorry this happened, Inu-Yasha." Rin said. "I was hoping you could meet more of your relatives."

"What happened now?" Kagome asked, voice scratchy. She tried to sit up on the desk and get a feel of her surroundings, but only succeeded in propping herself up on her elbows. She rubbed her forehead wearily. "Man, I've got a killer headache!"

"Kagome!" Rin cried, wrapping her up in a hug. "Oh, thank God you're okay!"

Kagome blinked. "Huh?"

"You almost drained yourself again, bitch." Kagome turned to see an irate Inu-Yasha scowling out the window.

"Oh." Kagome blushed slightly. "Oops."

"Oops? Oops?!" Inu-Yasha exploded, whirling around to face her. "You nearly got yourself killed _again_ and make yourself vulnerable to further attack and all you have to say is _oops_?!"

Kagome's blush darkened. "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to, really! It's just, you were in trouble so I _had_ to do something!"

Inu-Yasha closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, gently. "Never mind. Is there any cinnamon in this building?"

"There's coffee and donuts in the lounge downstairs. I think they have cinnamon rolls, too." Inu-Yasha turned to see Nathan standing next to him.

"That should work. Could you bring up about three? And a cup of coffee."

Nathan blinked. "Why the coffee? I don't think we have cinnamon flavor."

"The coffee's for me." Inu-Yasha replied.

"Selfish jerk." Kagome muttered.

Inu-Yasha flicked one of his ears at her. "I heard that, you know."

"Good; now you know what I think of you."

"Is that any way to treat someone who just saved your life?"

"Not really. Should that make a difference?"

"_That_ had to hurt." Nathan muttered.

Inu-Yasha redirected his scowl from Kagome to Nathan. "You should learn to respect your elders, boy. And why are you still up here? I thought I told you to go fetch us some coffee and cinnamon rolls!"

Nathan rolled his eyes and began to walk off. "Yeah, yeah…"

"You know, if age were judged by maturity, you'd still be in infancy, Inu-Yasha." Kagome remarked.

"Ah, that wouldn't be so bad." Inu-Yasha replied. "After all, some people sell their soul trying to be young forever."

"Not _that_ young."

"Amusing though this senseless bickering may be," Sessho-maru interrupted, drolly, "I believe Inu-Yasha has some relatives to meet."

"Aw, but it was about to be reduced to immature name-calling!" Kagome whined. "Can't we bicker senselessly while he's being introduced?"

"No."

"Moot point anyway, Kagome." Inu-Yasha said, conversationally. "You don't have the energy to stand, let alone walk around meeting people. It's a wonder you have the strength to argue."

"Just wait until I get that cinnamon." Kagome growled. "Then, you're a dead man."

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "I'd like to see you try!"

"Why you--!" Kagome lunged for Inu-Yasha. With a yelp, he leapt out of the way, causing Kagome to land on the floor. "Ow…" Kagome rubbed her side and glared. "Come back here and try that again, doggie boy!"

Inu-Yasha snorted and rolled his eyes. "Come on. I may be dense, but I'm not _that_ dense."

On the floor, Kagome seethed. "Just you wait, Inu-Yasha." She vowed. "I'll get my revenge. You'll see. Even if it's not now, you'll have to put that necklace on sometime, and then, you'll be sorry!"

Nathan approached the desk, blinking. In one hand was a plate with three industrial-sized cinnamon rolls on it, in the other, a steaming cup of coffee. "I missed something, didn't I?"

"I think we all did," was Rin's reply as Inu-Yasha grabbed the cup and Kagome tugged piteously at Nathan's pants leg for a roll.

Rin and Sessho-maru accompanied Kagome and Inu-Yasha back to the shrine. The gathering had gone on for several more hours, and Kagome had fallen asleep halfway through. She was now curled up on the seat next to Inu-Yasha, snoozing peacefully, her head on his shoulder. (Inu-Yasha's cheeks tended to color whenever he was reminded of this, so he did his best to ignore it.) The sky was painted red and gold as the limo pulled up to the steps in front of the shrine.

Inu-Yasha was reaching for his seatbelt when he was stopped.

"Inu-Yasha…" Sessho-maru said, hesitantly.

The hanyou met his half-brother's eyes across the space between their seats. "Hmm?"

"I know we haven't been very friendly in the past, and you'd have no reason to accept, but we were wondering… _I_ was wondering," he corrected himself, "if you would consider coming to live with us?"

Inu-Yasha stared at him, speechless. Finally, he got his mouth to work. "I'm… honored that you would even think of asking me to stay with you, really, but…" He looked at Kagome where she leaned against him. "I kind of already have a home." He finished, quietly.

Sessho-maru nodded. "I understand. I'll make the necessary arrangements for you to stay. If you're ever in need of someplace to stay or have legal matters that need to be cleared up…"

"I know." Inu-Yasha replied. "I'll come straight to you. You wouldn't mind if I visited from time to time, would you?"

"Not at all." Sessho-maru assured him. He glanced at his watch. "You'd best be on your way." He said.

"Right." Inu-Yasha unbuckled his seatbelt and smiled crookedly. "See you around, Sessh." Gently, he shook Kagome's shoulder. "Yo, Kagome."

Kagome blinked, sleepily. "Hmm?"

"We're back."

"Oh." Kagome looked around, covering a yawn. Suddenly realizing the position she was in, she shot upright, blushing. "Uh, sorry." She murmured.

Inu-Yasha shrugged a shoulder and opened the door, glad to have his back facing her. "It's no biggie. C'mon, let's get going; I smell something cooking."

Kagome rolled her eyes and stepped out of the limo after him. "That's all you ever think about: food, food, food."

Rin and Sessho-maru watched the two as they argued all the way up the steps; then, Sessho-maru closed the door, and gave the signal to leave. The limo pulled away from the shrine, leaving hanyou and miko in peace for the time being.

Inu-Yasha flopped down backwards on his bed, stuffed full. He sighed in contentment, watching the sun set lazily through the window. The Tetsusaiga hung on a rack above his bed, battle-ready in case of need. Happy and content, Inu-Yasha let his eyes drift slowly shut…

He sat up again with a frown. Something felt wrong… He glanced out the window as the sun at last sunk behind the hills, the last rays of light dragging behind it like streamers. Realization dawned on his face, and he glanced down at his hand to make sure; true enough, his nails were shrinking down. He threw back his head and screamed in frustration.

There was the sound of a door being opened, then slammed shut in haste, followed close by footsteps all but running down the stairs. Kagome threw open the door to find him sitting dejectedly on his bed, looking at his hands. "Inu-Yasha? What's wrong? What happened?"

He looked up at her, helplessly. "It's the new moon." As he spoke, his hair changed in a wave from white to black, starting down at the tips and flowing up to the roots.

Kagome frowned, confusion and concern playing over her features. "Inu-Yasha, I don't understand. What's happening?" He couldn't have put the necklace on; it was still in her room. So why was he turning human?

He looked into her eyes just as a wave of indigo overtook their natural gold. He sighed, and looked away, becoming almost entranced with the bed covers. When he spoke, it came slowly, as if the words were weighted down with something. "You know I'm a hanyou, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well most of the time my demon blood is dominant, but once a month, my human side has to take over."

"But what about the necklace?" Kagome argued. "Shouldn't that count?"

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "No; the necklace gives my human blood more influence over my appearance, but nothing more. On a new moon my demon blood wanes and leaves me," he lifted a hand as an example, "like this." He let it drop beside him again.

Kagome looked at him carefully. "So once a month, you're officially human." He nodded, listlessly. Kagome shrugged. "Well, that's not so bad."

Inu-Yasha glared at her. "How, exactly, is it 'not so bad'?"

She sat down on the bed beside him. "You could be human all the time instead of just once in a while. And most of us don't seem to mind it all that much." Inu-Yasha continued to frown, but didn't say anything. Kagome sighed. "Well, it looks as if you're going to sulk all night despite my efforts so far, so we may as well stay up until you stop feeling sorry for yourself."

Inu-Yasha blinked. "Don't we have school in the morning?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm kinda full of cinnamon tea at the moment, and that stuff has caffeine, so it's not like I'd be getting much sleep anyway." Kagome got to her feet and started walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Inu-Yasha asked. She just said she'd stay up with him, right? She wouldn't be leaving him alone and helpless after all that fuss she'd made.

"To get a pack of cards."

"Cards?" Inu-Yasha blinked.

"Yeah." Kagome flashed him a grin. "I'm gonna teach you how to play poker."

Inu-Yasha sat on the bed, dumbfounded, wondering whom exactly he had to poke, and why exactly Kagome wanted him to, as well as why she had to teach him.

Naraku crept over the ground as silently as he was able. He wouldn't get another opportunity like this in a long time, and then it might be too late. There was no way the girl and hanyou would leave themselves this vulnerable again.

Naraku had been forced to rely on going human that night in order to sneak through the kitsune's defenses. Still, the girl might be able to sense the evil that tainted his system and the hanyou would surely recognize his scent on another night. His wasps were too loud to be used in this densely populated area, too, so tonight he could cut no corners. He'd have to do everything by hand.

Soon he reached the site where the miko's ashes had been buried. He took a shovel from where it had been strapped to his back, and began to dig. As he moved the earth, the scar on his back from the fire so long ago began to burn, faintly, and the skin around it pulled. Before long, pain began to shoot through his back like shards of glass as he lifted earth from the hole. Those shovel-fulls he emptied into a wooden chest. In one shovel-full, one that nearly blinded him with pain, was a twisted ring of stone beads. The ash was highly concentrated around these.

When he was satisfied with the amount of earth he had collected, he secured the chest, and strapped it and the shovel to his back. Slowly, painstakingly, he made his way away from Sunset Shrine. Even as a human, the power emanating from the area made his teeth ache. He glanced back to make sure that everything was as he had found it—with the exception of the miko's remnants in the chest—then continued on his way.

As he walked, he was assaulted by memories. Memories of a time when he was weaker, the last days of his human exsistance. There was a time when he had longed, even lusted, for the woman whose ashes he now carried on his back. But she did not want him; she wanted the dog hanyou near the village, though she did not realize it at the time. The hanyou also wanted her, though it was doubtful that he'd realized anything, either. He coveted their attentions, and began to plot their downfall. It was these events that triggered the birth of Naraku.

The day he put his plan into action, one of his first as Naraku, stood out clearly in his memory. He had shifted his shape to take on the form of the dog hanyou, and wreaked havoc on the village. He took his pain and anger out on the villagers who never paid him any good will and on the very miko whose attention he so desired. He then retreated to watch from the shadows.

He witnessed the miko pinning the hanyou to the tree, and her death, cremation, and burial, then moved on. As he traveled, he passed slightly twisted versions of the story on to whoever cared to listen.

Onigumo had not been quiet at first. He was angry that he had not gotten everything he wanted. Little by little, he battled the demons he had absorbed and gained power. Naraku had no inner peace until he accepted Onigumo and his desires.

The memories faded at last as Naraku walked through the city. The pain began to subside as the distance between him and the shrine grew, but the scar on his back still burned where the wooden chest rested. It didn't matter—not for long, anyway. Soon, he'd rise again, stronger than he'd ever been, the miko at last at his side.

Kagome studied the face of her opponent, looking for any hint of weakness; she found none. She glanced to the small cinnamon-sugar cookies they were betting with, and then back to her hand. Her eyes returned to Inu-Yasha's blank face. Again, she could read nothing. With an inner sigh of resignment, she laid down her hand.

"Three Jacks."

A very toothy grin spread over Inu-Yasha's face as he laid down his own hand. "Four Queens."

Kagome groaned as he swept the small pile of cookies between them away to his own rapidly growing stash. "How can you be so good at this? Two hours ago, you didn't even know what poker _was_!"

Inu-Yasha shrugged, still grinning like a maniac. "It's a gift."

Kagome scowled. "I hate you."

Inu-Yasha popped a cookie into his mouth. "Well, at least now I know. 'Nother game?"

=^-,-^= End Chapter Ten =^-,-^=

Yay! Computer's fixed! ^_^ Still won't let me save as HTML, though, so I'm sort-of improvising.

I was really tempted not to update for a few more days, until I got a few chapters ahead again. I mean, how would you know when my computer was up and running or not? Then I remembered something really important I had to say as soon as possible, so I'm updating now. I'm not going to make a long story short, because I've wanted to keep it long for quite a while now.

A few days after my last update, I was scanning through my favorite author's stuff to see if there was anything I hadn't read yet, when I stumbled across a summary that looked vaguely similar. Swallowing anxiety, I clicked on the link to read it. The bottom dropped out of my stomach as I got farther along; the story had a strikingly similar concept to this one. Frantic, I checked the date. Sure enough, it had been put up on FF.net before mine. I signed off the computer for about an hour as I pondered what to do. Finally certain that if I asked anyone for help that they would tell me to confess, I wrote an e-mail to the author explaining the situation and asking for permission to continue writing.

I got a reply the next morning. The author said that not only did I have her permission to continue writing; I didn't even have to say that I got the idea from her fic (which certainly wasn't true, but I was willing to say so anyway). The entire situation had gone better than I had hoped. All I had to do was put in a note about it the next time I updated. She said that she believed that there were coincidences, and that there were no truly original ideas in fan fiction anyway.

Relieved beyond imagination, I sent a reply saying that of _course_ I would put a note up in my next update, and would she do the same? She would indeed. I practically skipped through school the rest of the day.

To anyone in a similar situation to mine, I urge you to contact the other author as soon as possible, before some fan of his or her story finds out and tattles. Things go much worse that way, I've found (though not from personal experience).

If you want to read a fic with a very similar concept to this, though with better characterization, a different feel, and, unfortunately, slower updates, check out '_Kaigan'_ by Clara. If that also means you don't wish to continue reading this one, I completely understand, though if you do wish to continue, I'll be delighted. See, it's not really that great minds think alike. Often enough they think very differently from one another. It's more that great minds are susceptible to similar wavelengths. That said and done, I move on to review responses.

Teo: Yes, Inu-chan will be fighting more demons now. Though not without help ^_~. I hope I gave a good enough explanation of how the Nothing Woman got in for everyone. I'll be sure to include more of Nathan just for you. Also, it wasn't just that one chapter that was dedicated to you; it was the entire sequence with Sesshy and Rin. 

Tenshineko: You were right again. Maybe I am encouraging a bad habit, but if you get it all out in my story, then other authors won't have to worry as much, ne? I'm giving you an outlet here. I hope I did a good enough job with Inu-chan pulling rank on Nathan for you. The softening of Sesshy probably took a couple of centuries at least, but if anyone could do it, Rin could. I suppose you could say that Sesshy got Inu-Taisho's grave from somewhere else, though I'll have to get into a deeper explanation of how later. I was planning on doing a special chapter on it ^_^. This does not necessarily mean that Inu-chan will be mastering the Tetsusaiga relatively sooner. As to corresponding reincarnations, you'll just have to wait and see.

Leina: Sorry, no Bankotsu—yet. I don't really have much of a plan for the Seven-Man Army as of yet, but I do have a general idea in mind for them. Do you have any suggestions? I'll be sure to give you credit if I use them. And yes, Bankotsu is an eye candy, I'm well aware.

DiaBLo: As a matter of fact, the characters do say their attack names—in the manga, at least. I haven't seen much of the anime, so that's really what I'm going by.

Well, I think that's everything. I'd like to take this time to shamelessly plug my IY one-shot. It has relatively good characterization, a well-checked Japanese pun so it's actually saying what I mean, and a dedication that may or may not include you. Plus, it's short. It's the only reason I feel even slightly less guilty for getting this chapter out late. (Speaking of which, I'm going to try and get the next ones out as soon as possible until I'm back up to speed; I might not make it, but I'm on the last day of a three-day weekend, so I figure it's worth a shot.)

Next chapter will focus on Shippo, just for a change. Fox-power ^_^! Woo-hoo!

Disclaimer: Too lazy and too late to think of anything creative. Suffice to say, I don't own Inu-chan and co.

Ciao!

Edit (1-1-04): Not much changed here, either.  Maybe a word changed here or there.  That was an embarrassingly long wait between chapters, too. ^^; Oops.

-socchan


	11. Thunder Marks

A Hanyou in Tokyo

By socchan

Eleven: Thunder Marks

Kagome glanced over the top of her (admittedly bad) hand at the now human boy in front of her.  An unyielding pair of indigo eyes stared back at her.  Try though she might, she couldn't get a thing from them.

Inu-Yasha wasn't terribly easy to read at the best of times; when he chose to, he could make it nearly impossible.  Eighty percent of communication is non-verbal, after all.  He could give off misleading signals, or no signals at all if he felt like it.  It could be a great power indeed if only he realized how to use it.

Kagome knew it would be difficult for _anyone_ to read Inu-yasha.  Still, she couldn't help wishing she _could_ read him a bit better.  She took another look at her awful hand and grimaced.   _And not just for poker,_ she added, _though it would help._  Sighing, she laid down her cards.  "I fold."

Inu-Yasha grinned a surprisingly toothy grin and swept the cookies in the middle to his pile.  Kagome scowled and munched on one of her own as he gathered up all the cards and stacked them.  Stuffing the remainder of the cookie into her mouth, chewing, and swallowing, Kagome reached out and grabbed the cards.

"Gimme those," she commanded.  "I'm shuffling this time."

Inu-Yasha blinked a couple of times.  "O-kay…"

Ignoring him, Kagome shuffled the deck once, twice, and then set it down in front of her.  "Cut.  And not into pieces."  Inu-Yasha took about half of the cards from the top and set them next to the rest of the pile.  Kagome set the bottom half on the top and dealt out the cards.  Finished, she set the deck down again and picked up her hand.

Kagome looked at her cards and blinked.  A bit of lore her grandfather had told her when she was younger came back to her—something called 'cartomancy'.  _The ace of hearts beside a heart,_ she recalled, _Affectionate friendship and true love.  A friend may become a lover or introduce you to someone who will fall in love with you._  Her cheeks twinged ever-so-slightly red.  _Ace of hearts: true love.  New life awaits.  The greatest promise to those hopeful about love.  If you are alone, you are about to experience a powerful love.  Jack of hearts: someone you already know, youthful in appearance or attitude, whatever his age may be may make advances.  Queen of clubs: an attractive, confident woman.  Jack of clubs: a flirtatious young man. King of spades: and egotistical older man—ruthless and charming._  Still slightly red, Kagome quirked an eyebrow.  _If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was the recipe for a girl's romance comic._

She pushed five cookies into the center.  "Five."

Inu-Yasha barely glanced up from his hand.  "Raise you ten."  He pushed the selected amount into the pile, Kagome doing the same.

"Show?" Kagome suggested.

Inu-Yasha looked at his hand strangely.  "Something tells me I'm not going to get anything better if I try, so yes, show."  They laid down their cards.

"Two jacks." Kagome stated.

Inu-Yasha chuckled.  "Two tens."  Startled, Kagome glanced at his pile of cards.  The ten of diamonds, the ten of hearts—upside-down? —and the ace of spaces barely visible underneath them.  _What does _that _mean?_  "You win, Kagome."

Kagome's head snapped back up.  "Ah!  I did, didn't I?"  Grinning, she pulled the cookies towards her.  "Maybe my luck's changing!"

Inu-Yasha snorted.  "Not likely.  This time, _I_ shuffle."

The clock struck two.  Had circumstances been different, one of them might have noticed the new energy signal on the edge of town; but as they were, someone else would have to.

Shippo muttered something and rolled over on his bed.  He cracked an eye open and peered at the glowing numbers on his clock radio.  _Two-thirteen._ He cursed under his breath.

Shippo had been hoping to get more sleep now that Inu-Yasha was guarding Kagome on the home front, but it seemed he was simply too used to the late hours.  Suppressing more curses, Shippo rolled out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen.  Maybe a late-night snack would help him sleep.

The fox-boy rooted through the fridge, searching for something to satisfy him.  Finding nothing he wanted, he rejected it in favor of the freezer.  His eyes settled on a pint of Chocolate Fudge Ripple.  He snatched it out of the freezer and grabbed a spoon from a near-by drawer.  At last content, Shippo flopped down in a chair and dug the spoon into the rich, fudgy substance.  Out of habit, he checked the parameter spell he had set up some years back.

On a mental map pulled up in his mind were a series of dots, each one representing a demon or mystic who could be considered a threat to Kagome.  The size of the dot represented power, the brightness was the amount of control the subject had over said power, and the color showed what intents the individual had regarding Kagome.  He raised an eyebrow, noticing that a large number of 'neutral' dots had changed color to 'friendly' since he'd last checked.  How had _that_ happened?

Shaking his head, determined not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he moved on.  He sighed when he finally found a new power colored for malicious intent.  He knew there would be a catch.  Putting disappointment out of his mind for now, he focused on the dot, and the map zoomed in on it.  Mentally, Shippo scrutinized it.

The dot was medium- to high-power, and on the move.  The last malicious power after Kagome had been low-medium power, so he'd let it go.  This one, though, he'd have to insist on helping with.  Focusing a bit more on the aura, to identify traits about the person, familiarity tickled Shippo's senses.  He frowned a bit as he tried to place where he'd felt a similar aura, then sat bolt upright as memory flooded back to him.  The metal of the spoon contorted in his grip, and bit into his palm.  "Shit…" he murmured, "Hiten's here."

Shippo never got back to sleep that night.  At about a quarter to seven, he called it quits, showered, got dressed, and went to school.  There he sat on the steps, anxiously strumming bits of songs on his guitar, waiting for Kagome and Inu-Yasha.

At about seven forty-five, the two showed up, bickering.  Shippo thought he caught something about 'poker' and 'cheating' before Inu-Yasha launched into a lecture on probability.  Kagome interrupted with a complaint about how _she_ was the one who needed the cookies, anyway, before she noticed Shippo.

"Mornin' Shippo." She said, brightly.  "You look tired." She indicated the dark smudges under his eyes.

Shippo shrugged a shoulder.   "So do you.  What were you up doing last night?"

"Playing poker." Inu-Yasha replied, matter-of-factly.

Shippo rolled his eyes.  "Say no more.  I didn't know you knew how to play, though."

"Didn't.  Kagome taught me."

"And then he beat the pants off me." Kagome grumbled.

Shippo raised an eyebrow.  "You taught him _strip_ poker?  I didn't know you two were so… adventurous.  No wonder you're tired."

Inu-Yasha glared at Shippo, and Kagome turned red as a stoplight.  "It wasn't like that!" she protested.  "It was the new moon, and Inu-Yasha didn't want to sleep because it was his—"

Inu-Yasha clapped a hand over her mouth.  "Quiet!" he hissed.  "I don't want everyone to know when that is."

Shippo calmly surveyed the two, and then set his guitar in its case.  He could guess what the new moon was to Inu-Yasha, but decided not to push his luck by saying.  Instead, he changed the subject.

"So anyway," he said, mildly, "I couldn't sleep last night, so I ended up checking out some old defense spells I have set up.  Out of pure curiosity, how'd you get so many youkai on your side in just one day?"

Inu-Yasha's cheeks colored slightly.  "Um… family reunion." He muttered.

Shippo shook his head.  "With you, I am somehow not surprised."

There was a muffled 'ahem', and Inu-Yasha turned to his side to see where it came from.  Upon realizing, he dropped his hand from Kagome's mouth, rather embarrassed.  "Uh, sorry." He said, sheepishly.

Kagome gave him a look that was only somewhat annoyed, and turned back to Shippo.  "So you stayed up all night trying to figure out why people had changed sides?" She sounded skeptical.

Shippo let out a breath, and shook his head.

Inu-Yasha frowned.  "Then why?"

The fox-boy opened his mouth to reply when the school bell rang.  Gritting his teeth in frustration, he closed his guitar case and slung it over his shoulder.  "I'll tell you at lunch."  Still grumbling a bit, he walked towards the building.  After exchanging a rather confused glance, Kagome and Inu-Yasha followed.

The hours to lunch dragged on.  When the bell finally rang, Kagome and Inu-Yasha pounced on Shippo.  The fox sighed, and glanced around at the other people in the classroom, a pained look on his face.  Inu-Yasha caught the look.  "Rooftop?" he suggested.

Shippo nodded, relieved.  "Rooftop."  The three grabbed their bento boxes, and headed up.

Moments later, they were arranged along a wall on the roof, bentos open on laps.  Shippo took a bite of his lunch, chewed, and swallowed.  "Last night I got a signal on the defense map of a fairly powerful youkai headed this way; he's after the Shikon no Tama.  I want to stop him."

Kagome frowned, and swallowed the mouthful she had been chewing.  "How do you know he's after it?"

"The spell's set up so it indicates the person's intent towards you." Shippo explained.

Understanding flashed across Inu-Yasha's face.  "So _that's_ how you knew about my family…" Shippo nodded.  "Okay, I get how you know what this youkai was after, but why do you want to take care of him?  Kagome and I handled that hair chick a while back okay."

Shippo grimaced.  "As far as youkai in general go, she was about medium strength.  As far as those who can take and hold human form, though… She wasn't exactly too high up on the ladder.  I figured you could take her on your own.  Besides, I had homework that night."  He held up his hands to defend himself against the glares that were instantly pinpointing him.  "Now don't get me wrong, I would've been out there in a second if I thought you needed my help, but you didn't."

Kagome and Inu-Yasha shared a look.  "Well, I guess that's true," Kagome admitted, "but—"

"Next time something's headed our way, let us know." Inu-Yasha interrupted.  "I'm not entirely fond of surprises."

Shippo nodded.  "Anyway, this youkai is about medium strength before you get into great youkai, so he's stronger than that last one."

"So that's it?" Inu-Yasha asked.  "You want to help because this guy's stronger than that chick?  Look, ordinarily I'd say sure, join the party, but I really think Kagome and I can handle this one on our own, too."

Shippo frowned at him, surprised and a little panicked.  "Really?  How do you figure?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged.  "My brother just passed on my Dad's inheritance to me, so with the Tetsusaiga, I think we should be okay."

Shippo barely registered the legendary weapon Tetsusaiga.  "Look," he said, frantically, "I have to fight this guy.  It's personal.  Believe me, he isn't just after Kagome."

Kagome's eyebrows shot up and Inu-Yasha frowned.  "Shippo," Kagome said, calmly, "I think you'd better tell us what's going on."

Shippo closed his eyes and raked a hand through his bangs.  "Right.  Okay.  It happened when Kagome was about seven.  I had only just started picking demons off when this guy rode into town on a motorcycle."  Images flashed through Shippo's mind of a stocky man in his early thirties with a shaved head wearing biker leathers.  He was rather ugly, and his bike roared like thunder.  "He saw you when you were walking home, Kagome, and he must have figured out that you had the Shikon no Tama, though how I'll never guess.  Manten never was the brightest sharpest tool in the shed.

"Anyway, I sent a couple of spell-creatures to watch him, just in case.  Turns out he was planning on getting backup from somewhere to help him get the jewel if he couldn't take it for himself.  It would probably mean sharing some of the power with those who had helped him, but Manten seemed desperate.  I decided to stop him."

Memories flowed more freely now, of one of Shippo's spell-crafted spies returning with the news.  Of Shippo being slightly panicked at first, then resolute.  Of digging up his father's old war chest from pre-purging times.  Of taking out a special set of enchanted stones.

"I was waiting a little ways from your house on the edges of the forest.  Manten showed around midnight.  He was still riding his bike, but he'd made it quieter somehow.  Like thunder rolling miles off.  I managed to scare him off, but only just."  A scene with Shippo no more than a shadow in the trees, cloaked to keep anyone from recognizing him unless he wanted them to.  A rock being tossed into the air, and then caught, almost casually.  Whispered threats and the illusion of more shadowy youkai figures, produced by the enchanted stones being thrown into the forest.  No one would be able to tell they had no aura with all the energy that was built up on the site.  The sight of Manten turning the motorcycle around and fleeing the scene.

"I followed him to his 'hideout', a dilapidated old warehouse due for deconstruction in a bad part of town.  It was mostly used by the Yakuza, or other crime syndicates, particularly demon branches.  He was trying to call someone when I cut the power.  I made my entrance and we fought it out.  He lost; I walked away.  Before he died, though, he swore to me that his brother would know, and would come to finish what had been started, however long it took."

The final memory: Manten at the phone, talking hurriedly to someone on the other end.  His frustration when the line went dead, and slight paranoia when the lights went out, as well.  Shippo had walked in, illuminated by foxfire, his eyes alight in the darkness.  A deadly battle between thunder and fox, the former falling at last to the latter, the smell of blood thick in the air.  Manten swearing with his dying breath that Hiten would come and avenge him, then take the power himself.  Shippo, emotionally and physically exhausted, walked from the scene in darkness.  The memories faded and the fox pulled himself back out into reality.

"So you think that this demon that just blew into town is this guy's brother?" Inu-Yasha asked.

Shippo nodded.  "Nearly positive.  If it's not him, it's someone close to him.  Auras are extremely hard to fake."

"Well, shit."  Inu-Yasha swept a clump of his hair behind his ear.  "Guess there's no way we could've kept you out of this even if we'd tried."

Shippo smiled wearily.  "Not really, no."

"Well, hey, look on the bright side." Kagome said, cheerily.  "With Shippo fighting with us, I'm less likely to drain myself."

"About that." Inu-Yasha's voice was nonchalant.  "You haven't completely recovered from the _last_ fight we were in, and, since Shippo's gong to be taking a bigger role in this one, I want you to take a back-seat."

"Haven't recovered—!"  Kagome glared.  "Whose fault do you think that is, mister I'm-so-good-at-poker-I-can-guess-what-Kagome's-hand-is?  You ate all my cookies!"

"Only half." Inu-Yasha defended.  "Besides, you lost fair and square."

"Jerk."

"Annoyance."

"Bastard."

"Looser."

"Cheater."

"Hey!  I don't cheat!  I don't need to cheat!  I just use your inability to play poker to my advantage."

Shippo sighed and resigned himself to a long lunch.

=^-.-^= End Chapter Eleven =^-.-^=

I live!  Okay, so I was alive anyway; I just wasn't writing.  For those of you interested, though, I _do_ have an excuse!  And it's a pretty good one, too.

My depression came back.  It made me feel less like writing and more like slacking off and sleeping.  Worse, it made writing seem _boring_ to me.  Not good.  I don't want to be bored when I write.  Or ever.  Anyway, that's my excuse.  Many apologies for the long delay and to those I kept waiting.  I'll try not to do it in the future.  In fact, I did my best to get this out before I left for Thanksgiving in Penn's Woods (Yes, I am United Statesperson.) so you didn't have to wait for five days for me to post it.  Incidentally, my family will end up driving home on my birthday _.  This coming Sunday, for those interested.  Still, you can't have everything; where would you put it? ß Not mine.  Just thought I'd point that out.

The Cartomancy bit at the beginning was a bit of blatant foreshadowing.  Try and figure out what I was aiming for with Inu-chan's hand ^_~.  I gleaned the information from a fortune-telling book, whose methods were collected by Gillian Kemp, not me.  It's not the best source of such information, but was appropriate for my purposes.

Tenshineko: The 'raising the dead' ceremony won't be yucky, I promise.  At least, not very, I think.  But that's all I'm saying about it for now.  Also, I said earlier how I would be including Miroku and Sango, but I never said _how_ they would show up.  Sure, I can't resist putting them in; but how will I manage it?  (hee hee, I'm going to break your brain!)  Glad to have your support, by the way ^_^.

Teo: About cinnamon.  It was really the first thing that popped into my head that they would have an incense for.  Later, I found out that the Mask of Flesh was carved from a cinnamon tree.  Go figure.  Maybe it's some cosmic subconscious whatsit.  Anyway, for this story, cinnamon has restorative properties.  No real base in real life.  Glad you liked the bickering.  I'm trying to make a subtle move towards better characterization, and I don't know if it's working or not; I can only hope.  I'm also looking forward to writing about Miroku and Sango, but there are still a few chapters before they show up.

Eidolon Griffin: Why are newbies so good at poker?  It's called the Principal of Favorability—or Beginner's Luck.  To find out more about it, I suggest reading Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist.  Why is Inu-Yasha in particular so good at poker?  I made him good at math in this fic, that's why.

RaVeN222: I am incredibly flattered!  Thank you.

To the several people who asked (though I cannot recall all of your names at the moment): Reviews and e-mails are appreciated and welcomed.  If I didn't want them, it would defeat the purpose of posting on-line.  Please, send away, and tell me what you thought!

Disclaimer: I own Nathan, and that's about it.  Inu-chan and crew are property of the wonderful and talented (and wonderfully talented) Rumiko Takahashi.  Were they mine, her work would be a fan fiction.  However, that is not the case.  Thank you, and please don't use my original character(s) without asking.  Unless you're Teo.  If you are, feel free to borrow whenever you feel like it.

Edit (1-1-04): Wasn't entirely sure I'd be able to finish all of them today.  Had to copy all of the old chapters (that's one through ten) because my computer lost them a while back, so if there's a double border, that's why.

-socchan


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